Name, Age, City and State: Rob Woodrum, age 48, living in Florida

Job-title: Pastor/ comic book artist / illustrator

Web/blog site URL: http://robwoodrum.com http://rabbiencounters.com

Give us your job description in 25 words or less. I serve as a leader among a community of believers who are more like the Island of Misfit Toys than anything else.

Describe a typical workday. I start my day with prayer and meditation, getting quiet and in tune with God's big plan for life. From there, depending on the day, I am usually studying, reading, doing research online, counseling people or getting updates on day to day stuff from my assistant pastor and youth pastor.

If I have an illustration project going, my work day gets longer...anywhere from 12-14 hours, where I sit at a drawing table or in front of my computer doing art. There's just no end to the glamour of it all (please note the heavy sarcasm).

What led you to realize that you wanted to do this type of work? The pastor thing was all an accident...I didn't mean to plant a church, but that's a long story. I've ALWAYS wanted to draw comics, it's my earliest memory. My first major comic book project was executed with crayons on a hallway wall in the house I grew up in. It was an epic tale done without dialogue because I didn't know how to write yet. It received a pretty poor review from my mom. Nevertheless, I persevered and drew a comic strip for a local paper for several years, and a youth pastor comic for Group Magazine for 11 years after that...so I guess we know who was right between me and my mom.

Did you have any heroes or mentors in your industry that you admired? Eugene Peterson, N.T. Wright, Steve Brown, Alex Toth, Paul Pope, Walt Kelly...and I never thought I'd use all those names in one sentence.

What type of education or training was required to land your job? I am completely unqualified in every job that I do. Seriously. I am a self-trained artist and a self-educated pastor...and I am still a student and in training.

What do you love most about your job? Studying the Word of God, taking part in the transformational power of the Kingdom of God...and being creative like the Creator. Oh yeah...and the glamour of it all.

What one part of your job do you wish you could hire someone else to do? Anything to do with adding numbers together or talking with salesmen. Since we're fantasizing, I wish I could hire someone to go to the doctor for me, because I HATE going to the doctor.

What advice would you give to teenagers wanting to get into your field of work? My only advice is very broad in nature...but it is all encompassing. Find God's path for your life (as best as you can understand it), and pursue it with full bore passion...then leave the results in His hands. A heart that is intensely loyal to the Hero-King is something far more valuable than riches or fame...and the world needs more of them.

How does your job allow you to use your God-given gifts? I've been told I'm a competent communicator, so I suppose teaching allows that gift to be utilized. I also incorporate a lot of multi-media into my talks, so I get to use my creative talents every week in putting together Powerpoint slideshows and I do all the graphic branding for our church.

Do you have any hobbies or off-hours pursuits that teenagers would find of interest? I surf , I read a lot of comics and I'm a huge fan of naps and the Chicago Cubs...but not necessarily in that order.

Here are some samples of Rob's artwork: