{"id":47098,"date":"2024-10-23T09:30:17","date_gmt":"2024-10-23T13:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.presbyterianfoundation.org\/?p=47098"},"modified":"2024-10-22T16:22:45","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T20:22:45","slug":"the-tiktok-pastor-sits-for-a-more-in-depth-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/presbyterianfoundation.louderstaging.com\/ko\/resources\/news\/the-tiktok-pastor-sits-for-a-more-in-depth-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"'\ud2f1\ud1a1 \ubaa9\uc0ac'\uac00 \ub354 \uae4a\uc774 \uc788\ub294 \uc778\ud130\ubdf0\ub97c \uc704\ud574 \uc549\uc544 \uc788\uc2b5\ub2c8\ub2e4."},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Rev. Bethany Peerbolte (Photo by Andrew Niven Jowett)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

It turns out the Rev. Bethany Peerbolte, known to many as the \u201cTikTok Pastor<\/a>,\u201d can communicate via longform media as well.<\/p>\n

Monday saw the release of the most recent edition of \u201cLeading Theologically,\u201d hosted by the\u00a0Rev. Bill Davis<\/a>, Senior Director for Theological Funds Development at the\u00a0Presbyterian Foundation<\/a>. Listen to the engaging 20-minute conversation between Peerbolte and Davis\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Both Peerbolte and Davis are members of\u00a0Denver Presbytery<\/a>. Peerbolte told Davis she began making TikToks as a youth pastor \u201cto reach my youth, and people just really connected with the message. The idea of a progressive pastor was new to them. Even a female pastor was new to some people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her most recent online endeavor is called\u00a0Our Tapestry<\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to get the church experience to people in theological deserts who don\u2019t have a progressive church around them,\u201d Peerbolte said, \u201cor they\u2019ve been hurt by the church and walking into a church building feels very dangerous to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI love that testimony of journeying alongside somebody experiencing a dark night of the soul,\u201d Davis told her. \u201cThis is what we are trained to do as pastors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to find different ways to be comforting,\u201d Peerbolte replied. Using social media, \u201cI can be there at the hour they need a good word.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like Davis, \u201cI didn\u2019t get digital ministry training\u201d in seminary, Peerbolte said. \u201cOn TikTok, I learned the language and the culture \u2014 how jokes develop, how you say just enough so people get the hook.\u201d To Peerbolte, a 15-second video \u201cis the new parable. You tell them just enough to get their brain going but not enough to tell them what the answer is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a mission field,\u201d she says about her online engagement. \u201cI have to figure out what people are going through before I can start talking about Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou dove in and then started ministering to folks there,\u201d Davis told her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have learned more about God\u2019s love through social media,\u201d Peerbolte said. \u201cIt is really a platform where God speaks. We talk about\u00a0[social media] algorithms<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 that\u2019s the Holy Spirit, and the only one who understands algorithms is the Holy Spirit. It\u2019s a place that\u2019s pretty accessible to everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe other thing is everyone has a voice. You have a platform, a way to speak your truth and challenge each other \u2014 which I think the Kingdom of God is going to be like, having your voice heard. The Spirit has a really good way of getting things that people need to hear to them. Whether it\u2019s the algorithm or the Spirit, it\u2019s amazing how many times a week I hear, \u2018Thank you. I really needed to hear this,\u2019 or \u2018I\u2019ve been saving this video for later.\u2019 The videos, the jokes, the stories \u2014 whatever \u2014 find people who need to hear them in that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI love it that you\u2019re pointing to the Spirit blowing in your ministry,\u201d Davis said before asking Peerbolte to point listeners to others who offer similar models.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason I started making videos is that people were doing it so poorly,\u201d Peerbolte said. \u201cThere was a lot of manipulation, a lot of faces crying right up in the screen, saying, \u2018I need you to know Jesus.\u2019 That doesn\u2019t have to be the way people fall in love with the gospel. You don\u2019t need fear and manipulation to make people believe that they need God.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, \u201cthere are tons of progressive pastors out there doing this,\u201d she said, adding they can be found by searching Instagram, YouTube, Facebook or TikTok for \u201c#progressiveclergy.\u201d<\/p>\n

At\u00a0disorganized.religion<\/a>, Pastor Sarah \u201cdoes little skits. It\u2019s story- and narrative-based. Others are theology-based,\u201d Peerbolte said. \u201cBrandan Robertson<\/a>\u00a0does a great job of getting straight to the point, no questions asked, \u2018God loves you\u2019 kind of stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Organizations including churches also produce quality content, Peerbolte said, but their task is more difficult because \u201csocial media is about a person developing a relationship with someone.\u201d The\u00a0Rev. Jim Keat<\/a>\u00a0\u201cdoes a great job with\u00a0The Riverside Church<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you know the story of your community \u2014 why you exist and what your goal is \u2014 that\u2019s your personality,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

When Davis asked her about Our Tapestry, Peerbolte said the biggest thing about digital ministry is \u201ccommunity can happen even though you\u2019re not in the same room together.\u201d She believes every pastor should be scrolling for an hour a day \u201cto learn the things you like\u201d so that \u201cyou can make content like that. That\u2019s the best way to get your toe in the water.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can use stuff you already have,\u201d Peerbolte said. \u201cYou\u2019re doing a sermon on Sunday; here\u2019s a quick preview\u201d or \u201chere\u2019s an interesting takeaway from Bible study. You can put last week\u2019s sermon on\u00a0Opus<\/a>\u00a0and it will cut it down to a 15-second video. Then you\u2019ve got content for the week.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for Artificial Intelligence, \u201cIt is fascinating and a lifesaver, but terrifying to me,\u201d Peerbolte said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can make wonderful opening lines for your email so people will actually read it. It can do some creepy things too,\u201d she said. \u201cAs long as we keep our humanity and realize it\u2019s not a human being talking back to us, that\u2019s where we can start interacting with AI.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\n<\/div>\n

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The Rev. Bill Davis<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Davis asked Peerbolte what she wishes church leaders knew about the use of social media in their ministry.<\/p>\n

Two things, Peerbolte said. First, \u201cthere are so many hurting people out there,\u201d people who \u201cdesperately need a pastor to say, \u2018I love you and God loves you. You don\u2019t have to change. Your queerness is God-created.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe other thing is the reason why there are so many hurting people is because of people in churches,\u201d Peerbolte said. \u201cMost people aren\u2019t walking away from God. They\u2019re walking away from a community of people who have hurt them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we\u2019re trying to placate everyone and saying, \u2018OK, let\u2019s not have the church get smaller\u2019 \u2026 that\u2019s what\u2019s increasing mistrust in the church,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are not holding each other accountable to what the gospel has told us to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a word for each and every one of us about the way we show up in the world and engage one another,\u201d Davis said. \u201cNot just face-to-face or not just when we are physically present, but when we are present online as well. That\u2019s a powerful word,\u201d he told Peerbolte. \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peerbolte concluded by sharing some thoughts about the\u00a0James Atwood Institute for Congregational Courage<\/a>, offered this summer by\u00a0Presbyterian Peace Fellowship<\/a>\u00a0and partners at\u00a0Ghost Ranch Education & Retreat Center<\/a>. The keynoter was\u00a0Father John Dear<\/a>, a priest, peace activist, author and lecturer.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was talking about self-nonviolence, and that has been a mind-twister for me,\u201d Peerbolte said. \u201cWe talk a lot about self-love and self-care, but I think self-nonviolence is a more reachable goal. You don\u2019t like who you\u2019ve been or where you\u2019ve been or what\u2019s happened to you, but could you at least be nonviolent toward yourself?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe also talked about in a world that tells us we have to break other people\u2019s bodies for our peace, we have a God that breaks their own body and pours out their own blood for our peace,\u201d she said, adding she shared communion recently \u201cand I saw it in a completely new way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had not been involved in gun violence prevention. I now have an understanding of what we\u2019re up against,\u201d Peerbolte said. \u201cGoing into a space where you\u2019re not the smartest person has always paid off for me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It turns out the Rev. Bethany Peerbolte, known to many as the \u201cTikTok Pastor,\u201d can communicate via longform media as well. Monday saw the release of the most recent edition […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":47100,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[117],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/presbyterianfoundation.louderstaging.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/presbyterianfoundation.louderstaging.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/presbyterianfoundation.louderstaging.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/presbyterianfoundation.louderstaging.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/presbyterianfoundation.louderstaging.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47098"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/presbyterianfoundation.louderstaging.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47098\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47101,"href":"https:\/\/presbyterianfoundation.louderstaging.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47098\/revisions\/47101"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/presbyterianfoundation.louderstaging.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/presbyterianfoundation.louderstaging.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/presbyterianfoundation.louderstaging.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/presbyterianfoundation.louderstaging.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}