Some more thoughts around metapastoring…
I asked ChatGPT, Gemini and Grok to ‘Create an image of a Pastor helping someone in grief.’ You can see the images attached.
To be honest, I was glad they weren’t all middle-aged white guys. Gemini (owned by Google) delivered on the white-guy stereotype, but the others didn’t. You may notice: they are all men, all a certain build, and two of them are wearing clerical collars. You may also notice that the grieving ‘someone’ are all women, and they are all being touched. Notice my prompt was ‘helping’, not holding or comforting.
But Generative AI has done what it does best – generate stereotypical norms based upon [*cough* stolen] human output. These images represent what has been delivered across media for decades. They expose bias. They expose algorithms. They expose accepted norms. They expose our language. Most of all, they expose how we discriminate.
In a previous post I introduced the word ‘metapastor’ and proposed some definitions. Your comments, questions, and pushback were so helpful, thank you. I really value thinking in community.
What stuck out was the idea that metapastoring is something happening en masse, on the edges, beyond norms. Metapastors don’t need the title of ‘Pastor’, although many have felt the call, only to discover they aren’t male enough, ethnic enough, straight enough, married enough, pretty enough, polished enough, pious enough, young enough, cool enough, or educated enough. For metapastors, the deep sense of call to care for those in need transcends the institutional prerequisites – both spoken and unspoken. They get on with the work, but they call ‘the work’ living.
This is why metapastors break moulds. They aren’t pictured below. They often walk with an invaluable limp, having wrestled with God, themselves, and culture. They have moved beyond the fear of man and are willing to be among those familiar with the fellowship of Christ’s suffering. Metapastors are everywhere, and they are on the rise. I see you!
David Tensen