This is a really interesting and bold prompt, I had to comment on it right away! As a reader I’d love to see how an Atheist would pull this off, how they’d connect to the congregation and how their approach differs from a priest. Who knows the priest could even pick up a technique or two.
Edit: formatting
“I don’t understand,” said Alex, “How could you, a faithless non-believer, hope to Shepherd this flock?” A glazed ray of light landed on the shoulders of a man in black.
“I am not faithless!” Said Mark. “I spent years, engaging with each, & every one of them. I am privy to their closest secrets, yet still a friendly stranger.”
Alex held up her hand to silence him. “There is more to leadership, than going through the motions of society - to inspire secondhand, and to teach, without talking.”
Alex paced down the rows of empty pews. “Without the Lord, could you accomplish as such? I don’t think so, unlike me.”
Mark shook his head. “So you believe a certain charisma is more important than the social bonds we forge together?” He returned to the pulpit.
Alex turned towards the main door. “I believe, that in these past two weeks, the bonds I made are just as strong as the ones you cherish.” She paused as she gripped the handle. “Although, I suppose it can be fun, playing as the preacher.”
Ooh nice! I liked the little philosophical back and forth.
And congrats on being the first here to ever fulfill a prompt!
What a shitty phrase. Acting like pedagogy isn’t a thing and teachers spend years learning techniques for teaching different age groups just fall into the job.
Well, wouldn’t be the first time I’ve put my foot in my mouth. For that I apologize.
If it’s any consolation, my goal with the prompt, wasn’t to discredit the arduous unrewarded efforts of our educators. It was to put someone actively disqualified for a narrative role in such a situation.
But I felt that alone wasn’t especially interesting. There should be a puzzle allowing the prompted writer to put an unexpected twist on an otherwise straightforward prompt. Hence the atheist producing results counter to their values.
But if this is still considered in poor taste, then I give the mods permission to delete this.
