My kids love magnets. They’re at that age where it still feels like magic. It’s understandable: they’re witnessing an invisible force move something (like a paperclip) across space.

I still think magnets are fascinating—but they’re also a helpful metaphor.

There are countless influences in our lives today. The closer a magnet gets, the stronger its influence and pull on certain objects. In the same way, the things closest to us—what we give our attention to, what we interact with, and what we depend on—are often the things that shape and move us the most. Sometimes, we don’t even realize that it’s happening.

Winston Churchill once remarked that we shape our buildings, and afterward our buildings shape us.

You probably don’t need me to tell you that this is true. A packed-out hockey arena is not a time for silent contemplation. Equally, you wouldn’t chant “let’s go Readers!” at full volume in a library. A cathedral evokes a reverential posture we recognize instinctively; a living room is a place of relaxation (unless you’re trying to stop your children from drawing on the walls).

Our buildings shape us, but only while we’re in them. They’re geographically fixed.

Technology’s influence, on the other hand, is altogether more powerful.

Whereas buildings influence us only when we inhabit them, some forms of technology are ubiquitous.

Consider the way in which cars reshaped how we move and organize our lives (particularly in the vast open spaces of North America), or how smartphones reshaped how we communicate, think, and even experience social connection. My family live 7,000kms away, and yet I can video-call them instantly. That profoundly changes how I live compared to how the settlers of yesteryear lived.

Social media reshaped how we present ourselves and engage with each other.

In all of these examples, we created the tools, but they’re not passive. We shape our technology, and our technology shapes us.

AI: The Intensifier

The influence of AI is even more notable, but markedly different.

Artificial intelligence doesn’t replace earlier technologies; it intensifies them. It blankets almost every domain of life, seeping into existing technologies and affecting how we write, learn, search, communicate, and create. That matters because it means AI’s influence is not confined to a single location (like buildings) or to a single activity (as with most technologies). It amplifies the power of myriad technologies on our often unsuspecting lives.

One of the most helpful ways to understand this is to recognize that AI functions as a medium intensifier. In previous posts, I’ve described it as The Great Exacerbater. Rather than introducing entirely new problems, it accelerates and magnifies the ones already present. Let me offer some examples:

If you’re already impatient, AI removes friction and reinforces that alluring expectation of immediacy. In time, such instantaneous answers intensify our inability to wait.

If you tend to avoid difficult and deep thinking, AI can churn out the answers and release your neurons from having to force inconvenient connections to get there. But diminished brain engagement makes it significantly more challenging to engage in difficult, deep thinking (see this early study from MIT).

If relationships feel complicated or costly, AI offers simpler forms of interaction. Why struggle with the pressure of reading social cues and awkward small talk when you could simply connect with a chatbot? If you prefer a curated version of yourself, AI makes it easier to construct and maintain one: visually, you can lean heavily on AI filters, and verbally, you can simply ask ChatGPT or Gemini to tell you what to say in a given situation. Eventually, the challenge of engaging with people in “real life” is intensified.

The list goes on. If you’re new here, I talk about some of these challenges in a little more detail in my book, The Church and AI: Seven Guidelines for Ministry on the Digital Frontiers.

But I think you get the idea.

The Cultural Influence of AI

These challenges are why I’ve spent the last few years shouting from the rooftops: I believe the most important question isn’t whether AI can be used for good purposes, or even whether Christians should use it at all. Those are necessary discussion points, for sure, but I just don’t think they are the most pressing.

The deeper question is this: what is AI doing to us as we use it?

• What kinds of habits is it reinforcing?

• What expectations is it creating?

• What vision of the flourishing life is it quietly promoting?

• How is AI’s influential, magnetic nature shaping our culture?

These are the sorts of questions that reach beyond ethics into spiritual formation. And formation doesn’t require obvious misuse—it’s more nuanced than that. You don’t have to engage in something clearly wrong for it to shape you in unhelpful ways.

It’s enough for a technology like AI to simply pull, prod, and shape us with an invisible force, making certain aspects of our lives easier and more appealing until they become instinctive. Over time, convenience becomes expectation; speed starts to equal “good”, and avoidance and apathy can feel totally normal.

Nowhere is this dynamic more visible than in our relationships.

Relationships Are Hard, But Irreplaceable

We are already living in a moment where communication is constant, yet genuine relationships often feel elusive. It’s a truism at this point: we’re more digitally connected and less socially connected than ever before.

We can maintain a steady online presence, exchange messages throughout the day, and still experience a deep sense of isolation, because something is missing. It’s increasingly possible to be seen without being known. Let’s be clear: that condition didn’t begin with artificial intelligence, but AI has the capacity to intensify it in meaningful ways.

The reason for this is not hard to understand: deep relationships are inherently demanding. They require time and patience; they often involve misunderstandings, miscommunication, and forgiveness; they almost always require vulnerability. They’re not easy, or efficient, and they’re not predictable.

In contrast, AI-intensified interaction is far more responsive, far more controlled, and the stakes are much lower. It doesn’t interrupt you in the way “real people” might, and it doesn’t require us to navigate the complexity and unpredictability of other human beings. It offers something that feels like engagement without many of the costs that make relationships meaningful in the first place. This is precisely why it is so appealing, but over time, the easier option often becomes the default one, and when that happens, the habits required for a real relationship can weaken.

For Christians, this is an important cultural concern. How we address a culture with a growing relational deficit is one of the great issues of our generation.

However, it’s more than just a cultural concern; it’s a theological one.

The Bible presents human beings as fundamentally relational. We are created by a relational God for relationship, both with Him and with other people.

Our relational nature isn’t an incidental feature of human life; it’s central to what it means to be human.

That’s why God declares that it is not good for man to be alone in the opening pages of the Bible. It’s also why the story of God’s Word is ultimately about the restoration of broken relationship. Sin is more than just a matter of personal wrongdoing; it’s a rupture in communion with our Heavenly Father. Similarly, Jesus didn’t condescend to us simply to bless us with some moral guidelines. He lived, died, and rose again to bring people back into right relationship with the Father and to form a community of followers marked by love, forgiveness, and shared life.

For this reason, Christ-followers must wrestle with the rise of AI and the deeper questions it raises about discipleship. If the flourishing life that Jesus calls us to is bound up with real presence, genuine vulnerability, and embodied community (Heb. 10:25; 1 Thess. 2:8; Jam. 5:16; 1 John 1:7; Gal. 5:6), then any force that consistently pulls us away from those realities deserves careful attention. AI is not inherently opposed to those things, but without careful consideration, it can make alternatives seem more attractive. It already is. Without prudence, AI can provide functional substitutes for practices that are meant to be relational, offering conversation without friendship, insight without wisdom, and connection without presence. And when our preferences shift, formation follows.

In other words, we shape AI, and it shapes us back.

A similar concern applies to how we relate to truth. AI makes it easier than ever to produce content that is coherent, persuasive, and immediate. But there is a difference between accessing answers and becoming wise.

Wisdom requires time, attention, and a willingness to engage deeply with both Scripture and real experience.

It means ensuring that our relationship with God and with people is the primary influential force in our lives. It means deep thinking, discernment and prayer with the Scriptures as our plumbline.

None of this requires rejecting AI. Indeed, with much care, it can be a great intensifier of all that is good. But it does call for a reordering of priorities. If the principle is true that the things closest to us shape us most, then we need to be intentional about what we keep at the center of our lives. To reiterate, that begins with relationships—real, embodied, genuine relationships where people are known, challenged, and loved.

It also involves resisting the quiet drift toward outsourcing our thinking, choosing instead to remain mentally and spiritually engaged and attentive. Above all, it requires keeping God at the center, recognizing that the ultimate question isn’t just what shapes us, but who shapes us.

When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, his answer was both simple and comprehensive: love God and love your neighbour (Matt. 22:37-39). Two thousand years later, as we wrestle with a world of cars, planes, cell phones, social media, and artificial intelligence, this advice is as pertinent as ever.

At present, it seems as though artificial intelligence will continue to move closer to us, embedding itself more deeply into the structures of everyday life and increasing its influence. Yes, it will likely become more useful, more intuitive, and more difficult to avoid. However, the critical question for you, Christian, is this:

To what extent will we allow artificial intelligence to shape us?

Because the principle remains: the closer something is to us, the stronger its influence. And if we are not deliberate about what we keep closest, we may find ourselves shaped more by our tools than we realize.

Subscribe now

If you found this article helpful, consider reading my book “The Church and AI: Seven Guidelines for Ministry on the Digital Frontiers,” out now! If you’ve read it already, thank you! Feel free to leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads!

Dear readers,

You might have noticed that The Church and AI has been extremely quiet for the past year or so. In part, that’s because in many ways, the AI landscape hasn’t changed in any particularly earth-shattering ways. Of course, the technology is improving as we expected; “AI slop” is flooding the digital space as we expected; and in the race for dominance and profitability, ethical boundaries are being tested, as expected.

But the big picture hasn’t changed too much, beyond what appears to be an increasingly ambivalent or outright hostile sentiment towards AI’s ubiquity.

When I wrote The Church and AI: Seven Guidelines for Ministry on the Digital Frontiers, my intention was to formulate some ideas that would at least survive the rapid changes of the near future. Many of the thoughts on this Substack inspired the book and thus have not changed.

However, there are other reasons for my lack of activity here.

Last year, I had the opportunity to lead our church family through something of a “relaunch” process, which involved setting new vision, values, and strategies, renovating our building, and consolidating those changes. By God’s grace, our little church ended the year in awe of what the Lord had done on almost all fronts. Of course, this is wonderful news, but also incredibly exhausting.

Rather than focusing my thoughts on AI, much of my attention has been on a simple question:

“What makes for a flourishing church culture?”

This has been a crucial question for us as a church family, and worthy of our time. You don’t have to look far to find endless sprawls of books promising 10x growth or the latest strategies and techniques to be the next megachurch, but my concern is that, so often, such books focus on the “doing” rather than the attitudes that inform the actions.

For that reason, I want to introduce you to my new book, The Shortbread Gospel: Three Ingredients for a Flourishing Church Culture.

The idea is simple:

Shortbread is a delicious, moreish and simple treat that requires only three crucial ingredients: flour, sugar, and butter.

Like shortbread, the Church is at its delicious, moreish, God-honouring best when it contains a healthy balance of three crucial ingredients: Word, Spirit, and relationship.

Let me be candid with you: I’m growing increasingly disillusioned with the “industry” of Western Christianity. I’m not interested in jostling for status or profit; I just want this book to be a blessing. As such, the paperback is priced at cost, and the Kindle version is even cheaper. If you still can’t afford it and would like me to send you a PDF, let me know by commenting below or contacting me another way.

Below, you’ll find a few reviews from early readers, and then the entire first chapter.

And that’s it. That’s all you’ll hear from me about The Shortbread Gospel.

If you’d like to buy it, click on the image above or just search for it on Amazon.

Readers, thank you for allowing this brief (and singular) divergence from artificial intelligence-related content. I consider it an enormous privilege that you have chosen to follow this Substack, and I certainly do not take it for granted. May God richly bless you in whatever the rest of 2026 has in store for you!

PRAISE FOR THE SHORTBREAD GOSPEL

“The Shortbread Gospel is a refreshingly grounded (and surprisingly witty) invitation to return to the three quintessential ingredients of a life fully alive in Christ—Word, Spirit, and Relationship—while quietly exposing the hidden dangers of letting our souls drift from God. Gently unsettling yet tempered with hard-won wisdom and humility, The Shortbread Gospel reminds us that spiritual maturity is not about achievement, but about learning to linger longer at the table of God’s generosity.”

“The Shortbread Gospel is a timely and insightful read for churches and believers alike who find themselves asking: “What is missing?” in their fellowship and life together as the body of Christ. With warmth and clarity Dave Betts presents the essential “ingredients” needed to cultivate a healthy, Christ-centered community - much like the simple elements that make shortbread both rich and sustaining.

The book is easy to follow and deeply engaging, offering both biblical truth, personal stories, and memorable anecdotes that bring its message to life. Bett’s thoughtfully shapes his ideas in a way that stirs renewed passion for a deeper relationship with Christ, strengthens one’s grasp of truth, and encourages meaningful fellowship among believers.”

“The Shortbread Gospel is a thoughtful and engaging book whose central metaphor is far more than a novelty. The shortbread framework is memorable, and genuinely helpful for understanding the essential elements of a healthy church: Word, Spirit, and Relationship. This relevant and insightful book fills a real gap in how church is commonly understood and experienced. I highly recommend it to any Christian seeking a healthy church, and even more importantly, to any Christian who is committed to becoming a healthier contributor within their local church body.”

CHAPTER 1: When the Church Feels “Off”

I stumbled into a life of ministry almost two decades ago. In those years, God has given me the privilege of worshipping in well over a hundred churches, with thousands of believers from a wide range of denominations, traditions, and cultures around the world. I’ve joined with Jesus’ followers to gather around a fire and worship the Lord in an ominous-looking former castle in Poland (where is the “castle Church movement, by the way?). I’ve worshipped in a half-a-billion-dollar Singaporean megachurch where the security team was three times the size of the Polish castle church, a picture of opulence with a literal shopping mall beneath its extravagant sanctuary. Actually, before God broke into my life, I helped construct a little church building a few miles out of Nairobi, Kenya. As an avowed teenage atheist, I was furious about carrying cinder blocks and heavy bags of concrete for what became a little dark shack covered with nothing more than a few sheets of corrugated metal. I fixed my gaze on the dusty floor as a small group of Kenyan believers danced, clapped, cheered, and praised the Lord for our help in completing their church. I didn’t know it then, but building God’s church was about to become my life’s mission.

I’ve joined fashionable believers in New York City’s theatres, where time is money. I’ve stood out like a sore thumb as a lone, naïve Brit among an ocean of cowboy boots in farming communities in the heart of the snowy prairies (my particular favourite was the church in Gem, Alberta, where the entire city’s population is a whopping twenty-nine people). From Chicago to Świdnica, Brisbane to Bradford, Whistler to Winchester, Klaipeda to Korçë, and Portsmouth to Pittsburgh, one of the great joys of my life has been the opportunity to see the Body of Christ expressed across the globe. It’s a privilege I don’t take for granted; indeed, it’s hard to do anything but marvel at the way God moves in such varied and remarkable diversity.

But, as you’ve probably guessed by the chapter’s title, it’s also true that wherever they are and however they look, sometimes churches can miss the mark, falling short of the standards and practices God calls them to uphold. It’s not surprising; some estimates suggest that as many as 31% of the world’s population is Christian. Something is bound to go wrong! Within this vast population of believers, myriad age demographics, cultural systems, language norms, denominational affiliations, and broader societal practices vie for influence. Whatever our background, the fact that the global Church is composed of people means that, while it’s perfect in theory, it is almost always imperfect in practice. Of course, when there’s abuse, scandal, splits, or blatant heresy, there’s obviously a big problem somewhere in that church. But often, before arriving at such an extreme, there are significant “tells.” You might have noticed it: something feels a little “off.” Perhaps it feels as though the church isn’t totally wrong, per se, but they aren’t quite right either. To explain what I mean, here are a few examples that I’ve personally encountered (with names changed to protect the people involved):

Scenario 1: The Overzealous Ministry Team Member

It’s an evening service where several churches have gathered together. A guest preacher has just finished his second sermon of the day. The response is profound; several students, moved by the moment, rush to the front of the room to receive prayer for the next season of their lives. As reflective music plays in the background, the guest preacher and accompanying ministry team work their way through the hordes of tear-spilling teenagers, making sure to pray with each one. Dylan, a new member of the ministry team, is excited about what’s happening…and possibly a little overzealous. He moves from student to student, placing a hand on their forehead, before—quite literally—pushing them to the ground “in the Spirit.” It’s clear to most present that there is nothing Spirit-led about his actions, and one of the more seasoned leaders intervenes. “I don’t understand,” Dylan says. “I’m doing what my pastor showed me to do.”

Scenario 2: First Real Contact with the Pastor

Johnny has recently moved cities. He’d previously attended Super-Mega-Global-Church, but after a chance opportunity to reconnect with old friends, he’d been invited to check out Relational Church for the first time. From the moment he walked through the door, something felt different. The church was extremely welcoming. It felt as though the pastor was genuinely interested in getting to know him, asking many questions, even inviting him to join his family for dinner that night. Johnny had never experienced anything like this before. He’d attended churches for his whole life, but they were all just like Super Mega Global Church. Connection seemed to be a staffed ministry department rather than a way of life. In fact, as he drove home, Johnny realized something unsettling and beautiful all at the same time. In one afternoon, he’d spoken more with the pastor of Relational Church than he ever had with any of his previous pastors combined. And just maybe, there was something significant about that.

Scenario 3: Barking up the Wrong Tree

It’s the final night of a major Christian conference. The crowd is electric, filled with thousands of inspired and encouraged believers ready to worship one last time before heading home. The arena, which has hosted celebrities and even royalty, now resounds with emphatic songs of praise to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. As the final chorus fades, the lights dim and the host invites everyone into a moment of reflection. A hush falls across the room, as over five thousand people stand in complete silence, overcome with awe-filled reverence before God.

And then, it happens.

The silence is broken.

Gerald—an aging saint who’d attended the conference alone—suddenly feels “led by the Spirit” to bark like a dog. Not once, not twice, but for a full five minutes. Around the arena, a few voices join in: lion roars, tearful shrieks, and guttural cries fill the space that had, just moments earlier, been palpable with the presence of the Lord. Were some in need of deliverance? Quite possibly. Was Gerald one of them? He certainly didn’t think so. I was young and interested [read: terrified] by what was happening, so after the gathering, I waded through the sea of people to ask him what he felt was going on in that moment. He simply replied, “The Holy Spirit was moving, young man. The Holy Spirit was moving.”

Scenario 4: The Lonely Visitor

It’s an unusual weekend for Ryan.

He’s a carpenter, working a job about six hours from home. Since he can’t make it back for the weekend, he decides to find a local church, because—to his credit—even on the road, he doesn’t want to miss an opportunity to gather with God’s people. After a quick Google search, he lands on Together Church. It has rave reviews.

Ryan’s been to plenty of churches over the years; in fact, he even spent a few years as a pastor himself. But that doesn’t stop him from feeling that familiar knot in his stomach that comes with walking into a new place alone. With a deep breath, he pulls into the parking lot, pushes open the heavy front doors, pours himself a coffee from the unmanned (and ironically named) Welcome Station, and slips quietly into a seat at the back of the sanctuary.

He’s fifteen minutes early and looking forward to meeting some new people.

No one speaks to him.

People trickle in. Conversations fill the room, but not with Ryan. The service begins. The worship seems to be heartfelt, and the sermon is strong; it’s a rousing message about the Greatest Commandments: “Brothers and sisters, we must love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and love our neighbour as ourselves,” the pastor yells while thumping the pulpit with characteristic gusto. After the final song and benediction, the congregation begins the familiar shuffle to gather coats, collect kids, and connect in small clusters around the room.

Ryan stands for a few moments, hopeful. He smiles at people as they pass by and occasionally receives an acknowledging smile or nod. He even tries edging toward a friendly-looking group deep in conversation.

They don’t pause.

Or make room.

Or even glance his way.

Eventually, Ryan gives up. He leaves through the same doors he entered, finishes his now-cold coffee, and drives away. He hadn’t spoken a single word to another human being during the entire church gathering.

(Tragically, I could share at least twenty more stories like this one. I suspect you might be able to, as well.)

Scenario 5: The Walled-In Church

Simon and Katie moved to the city from South Africa just over two years ago. They were deeply saddened to leave their church family behind, but genuinely excited at the possibility of joining a new one. Even before boarding the plane, they’d done their homework. In the six months leading up to the move, they’d researched nearly every church within twenty miles of their new home—close to a hundred individual church communities. They watched sermons online, compared statements of faith, and studied ministries and music styles. It was an important decision they wanted to get right. Out of all the churches they looked at, one stood out:

People Matter Church.

Simon and Katie were so eager to attend that they showed up on their very first Sunday in the country, still jet-lagged, but full of hopeful expectation that they’d find “their people.”

For the next two years, they hardly missed a service. They loved the music. They loved the teaching. They loved the energy, the excellence, and the sense of Sunday community that filled the building every week.

Then one weekend, something unexpected happened.

A new couple, Kyle and Hannah, had just moved to the area and, like Simon and Katie a few years earlier, were visiting People Matter Church for the first time. After the service, they struck up a conversation, and by the end of it, Kyle said, “Hey, we’d love to invite you to our place for dinner sometime.”

It was a simple invitation, but a profound one.

As they were driving home, Simon and Katie realized that in two years of faithful attendance at People Matter Church, that was the first time anyone from the church had ever invited them to their home, and this was the couple’s first Sunday!

Why had it taken a brand-new couple to extend the first hand of friendship? Why did the church seem to exist only within the walls of the building during programmed events? Had it been their responsibility alone to initiate church relationships? They loved People Matter Church, but couldn’t help wondering: which people mattered—and when?

Scenario 6: Information but not Transformation

Jenny and her family have attended the same church for generations: Bible First Church. On paper, it checks every box. The sermons are doctrinally sound, intellectually rich, and at least an hour long (“as they should be,” Jenny thinks). The pastor meticulously unpacks every theological nuance, parses every Greek verb, and never fails to quote at least one Church Father, or Great Reformer, or the pièce de résistance: something from C. S. Lewis.

Every Sunday morning, the congregation sits in their orderly, pre-planned rows, with Bibles open and notebooks ready, eager to learn, and excited for the evening’s upcoming two-hour deep dive into Ezekiel 6. The music is traditional, reverent, and refreshingly predictable (“as it should be,” Jenny thinks). Each week, she drives home with her head full, but her heart oddly quiet. She understands the original meaning of the Greek word markarios and its impact on one’s interpretation of the Beatitudes in Matthew 5. She can hold her own in a conversation about the historical-critical and historical-grammatical methods. And don’t even get her started on the eschatological Millennium.

But lately, something feels off.

Her intellect is stuffed full of information, but her soul still feels hungry. Despite all of the knowledge she’s accumulated, deep down, Jenny knows she’s not living for Jesus the way Scripture calls her to. Around her, she sees the same pattern: friends who would never miss a church event, but curse at their coworkers without a second thought; families who explode in anger behind closed doors; believers who mock other churches for the slightest doctrinal difference.

Although Jenny doesn’t know it yet, her pastor will be fired next week for having an affair.

It all looks so right on the surface, and yet somewhere in all the academic knowledge and study, something vital seems to be missing. Jenny can’t quite name it yet, but she’s beginning to suspect that all this information isn’t moving from her church family’s heads to their hearts.

And that’s an issue.

THE PROBLEM

If you’ve never encountered a scenario like those listed above, congratulations. You’ve found the perfect church! For the rest of us, though, at least some of these stories probably sound a little too familiar.

What’s going on?

Believe it or not, the answer is in . . . shortbread.

If you feel a sudden urge to close the book, let me explain (although you might be shocked to look at the front cover again). Shortbread is a simple, centuries-old Scottish treat that pairs particularly well with a cup of tea. What makes it so remarkable is its simplicity: it only needs flour, butter, and sugar. That’s it. No secret techniques or complicated recipes, and it doesn’t take a candidate for MasterChef or The Great British Baking Show to make it.

Perhaps you’re a pastor or church leader. If so, chances are high that you’re already buried under a stack of books that promise the world. Maybe this one feels like just another to add to the pile. Each of those books offers its own “secret sauce” for preaching more effectively, running small groups more meaningfully, growing your church exponentially, evangelizing more boldly, guiding your staff inspirationally, and, of course, leading like Jesus (often in a manner that looks curiously like a modern-day CEO). You may have programs for your programs, strategies for your strategies, and a ministry operation that hums like a well-oiled machine. You’ve read about (or implemented) a million different ingredients and techniques for the complex, MasterChef-styled smorgasbord that you call church. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Praise God for those resources available to us!

But here’s the problem: the more complex the recipe, the easier it is to lose track of an ingredient or two along the way. And when that happens, the end result—no matter how polished it looks—starts to taste a little “off.”

This book is a call to return to the basic recipe that defines a healthy church culture; a call to rediscover the foundational ingredients of what it means to be the Church living out its mission. You won’t find a ten-step plan to supercharge your ministry, or another checklist for achieving success in Jesus’ name. The premise is far more straightforward than that: in most cases, when a church feels “off,” it’s because one of three vital ingredients is deficient or missing from God’s Church.

That’s the heart of what I call the Shortbread Gospel.

After years of observing and connecting with churches across numerous denominations and cultures, I’ve become increasingly convinced that the biblical model for living in (and living out) the Good News of Jesus as the Church depends, much like shortbread, on three core ingredients.

Where shortbread only needs flour, butter, and sugar, a healthy expression of the Church requires a careful balance of Word, Spirit, and Relationship.

If one ingredient is missing or out of balance in a shortbread recipe, what comes out of the oven might still look like that delicious Scottish delicacy, but it won’t taste like it. In the same way, when one or more of these ingredients is missing from the life of the Church, it may still look like the body of Christ, but something will feel “off.” You can sense it. You can taste it.

Something essential is missing.

Like you, I naturally lean toward a particular theological framework and denominational background. But the Shortbread Gospel transcends those boundaries. Whether we identify as charismatic, cessationist, conservative, liberal, Baptist, Reformed, Pentecostal, Methodist, Anglican, New Frontiers, or any other stream of the family of God, we need a healthy balance of Word, Spirit, and Relationship in our personal and corporate faith.

Before we go any further, I must express deep gratitude to those who have walked this path before me. Depending on your background, you may already be familiar with the phrase “Word and Spirit.” Though it’s a biblical idea as old as the Church itself, it gained fresh language during the Charismatic Renewal of the 1970s and 1980s, and became a defining mark of New Frontiers, a movement of churches I have had the privilege of serving in for much of my ministry life. And yet, with the utmost love for those who helped recover this ancient and vital posture, I’ve grown increasingly convinced that something is still missing.

Word and Spirit alone, as glorious as they are, do not fully express the richness of God’s design for His Church. There’s a third strand that holds the others together: Relationship.

The purpose of this book, then, is simple: to help us recover the biblical balance of Word, Spirit, and Relationship as the foundation of a healthy, Gospel-driven, 21st century church. When these three ingredients work together, our faith becomes rich, vibrant, and whole. But when even one fact is missing or deficient, the imbalance soon starts to show.

• The Word of God without the influence of the Holy Spirit can become rigid and intellectual.

• Pursuit of the Holy Spirit without a deep grounding in the Word of God can result in an unstable, shallow faith. At worst, this expression of faith operates outside the realm of biblical truth.

• Word and/or Spirit without relationship risks becoming either legalistic or performative (or both); Sundays become a show or an “experience” rather than an opportunity for deep connection with God and with people.

We can visualize this as a Venn diagram:

At the center of this image lies the outworking of the Shortbread Gospel: a Biblical, Spirit-filled, deeply relational and loving Church. It’s a community that:

• Lives entirely in the reality of Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension;

• Passionately pursues the truth of God’s Word;

• Moves in the power, presence, and guidance of the Holy Spirit;

• Loves deeply for the glory of the Lord of All, creationwhile fulfilling His Great Commission.

In scenario one, we met Dylan, an enthusiastic ministry team member who would physically push people to the ground as he prayed for them. His intentions were undoubtedly sincere, but his expression of faith was detached from Scripture. He and his pastor were pursuing an artificial experience of the Spirit because their ministry had become untethered from the Word of God.

The same was true for Gerald, the passionate worshipper who, “in the Spirit,” felt compelled to bark like a dog for five minutes (for reasons that still escape me). Over the years, I’ve encountered similar extremes: people praying for coins to stick to walls, for “glory clouds” to descend (apparently, they’re purple), or even engaging in the patently unbiblical practice of grave soaking—often, neglecting the Scriptures in their pursuit of the supernaturalattemptsto chasethe supernaturalwhile . When we pursue the Spirit without the foundations of the Bible, anything can be justified by the well-meaning but sometimes perilous phrase, “The Spirit told me to,” even if it’s patently unbiblical.

In the second scenario, Johnny visited a new church where the pastor took a genuine interest in getting to know him. For Johnny, it was startling; he’d never had more than a brief handshake with a lead pastor before. That in itself should make us pause. Regardless of a church’s size, if shepherds have no time—or desire—to be with their flock, something fundamental has gone wrong.

The same relational deficit is evident in Ryan’s story, where no one greeted him during his visit to Together Church. In fact, he returned the following week and had the same experience. Not one “hello.” That silence speaks volumes about Together Church’s culture.

Likewise, it’s disappointing to meet people like Simon and his wife, who attended the same church for two years without building any genuinely deep connections. Of course, some element of the blame might be placed on them, but clearly, despite all the great things happening at the church, something was missing in its approach to relationships.

Jenny’s situation in scenario six paints a picture of a church deeply devoted to Scripture yet disconnected from both the Spirit’s sanctifying work and authentic community. The result? A gathering of knowledgeable but grumpy, judgmental, and spiritually stagnant believers. Even the pastor, for all his theological precision, didn’t allow the truth to travel from head to heart; the knowledge that filled his mind didn’t impact his character, leaving him vulnerable to the sins he preached against, including the lure of adultery.

The importance of Word, Spirit, and Relationship is vital:

1. Word and Relationship without the Spirit risks producing a church without power.

2. Spirit and Relationship without the Word of God risks producing a church without foundations.

3. Word and Spirit without Relationship risks becoming a church without love.

For too long, the global Church—or at the very least, large swathes of the Western Church—has allowed itself to bake shortbread with missing or unbalanced ingredients. If some of these stories sound familiar or even painful, take heart. Feeling that something is “off” is not necessarily a sign that the Church is failing; it’s an invitation to return to what makes the Church the beautiful Bride of Christ. The center of the Venn diagram is not some new program or radical new strategy we’ve just unearthed; the Shortbread Gospel is both simpler and more complicated than that. It’s a signpost pointing us back to that old, well-worn path we find in the Scriptures: Word, Spirit, and Relationship—held together in togethertogeththin utter dependence on Jesus.

To be clear, the Shortbread Gospel is definitely not different or new; it’s simply a way of transmitting the Good News of Jesus Christ into every facet of our adventure together as children of God.

In the chapters that follow, we’ll pause to explore each ingredient of the Shortbread Gospel in turn. We’ll begin with the Word: a reminder that Scripture must remain our non-negotiable foundation, and that deep confidence in the Bible need not (and must not) harden into rigidity or legalism. Next, we’ll turn to the Spirit. We’ll see how, regardless of where we stand on spiritual gifts, we can welcome His presence and power in beautiful, biblical, and fruitful ways. Finally, we’ll look at relationship—how the Gospel calls us to live as a people marked by costly love, everyday hospitality, and a unity that outlasts our personal preferences. We’ll see that the Great Commission itself is really a call to Great Connection, which produces Great Community. Then we’ll explore what it looks like to live out these three ingredients—Word, Spirit, and Relationship—in reality as we navigate the personal, corporate, and missional expressions of our faith.

My prayer is simple: that as we journey through these pages together, the Lord would remind us what it looks like to live as the Church in the fullness of what it was designed to be, and by His grace, help those around us taste the sweetness of the Good News of Jesus.

Let’s dive in.

If the Shortbread Gospel isn’t for you, consider reading my book “The Church and AI: Seven Guidelines for Ministry on the Digital Frontiers,” out now! If you’ve read it already, thank you! Feel free to leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads!

Andrew is a playwright, screenwriter, and gifted storyteller. His stage plays (She Has A Name, We Are the Body) have received international acclaim, and he’s the co-founder of Unveil. He brings that same depth and thoughtfulness to the conversations he curates on Substack.

Below is a short excerpt from our discussion. I’d encourage you to check it out—and while you're there, take time to explore the wealth of wise, creative, and challenging content Andrew shares regularly. His Substack is well worth your attention

You place your writing on AI and the Church in the “digital frontier” which immediately frames ministry beyond the physical, embodied spaces of traditional ministry. To me that sounds like at least twice the amount of focus or work is required for those involved in making church happen. How do you bring the world of the digital space, where we live all week, and the traditional space of the church together?

You’re hitting on a great question that I feel needs some unpacking. The phrase “digital frontier” is intended to help us recognize that we’re stepping into wholly new territory as the Church. It’s good to keep in view that, optimistically, only around 1.7% of Christian church history has had any kind of access to the Internet, let alone social media, or this new AI wave (which includes large language models, etc.), which currently sits at about 0.125% of our post-resurrection journey as the body of Christ. We’re breaking radically new ground in terms of the tools available to us and the cultural landscape in which we minister.

With that in mind, I think there are a few ways to approach the question:

• First, it’s essential to acknowledge that the fabric of our society has shifted so significantly—and in such a short period—that ministry, by necessity, will look somewhat different than it did even a generation ago. That doesn’t mean the Church’s mission has changed, but the environment in which we pursue that mission certainly has. In the same way that the printing press reshaped preaching, or the telephone reshaped pastoral care, so too will digital spaces reshape the way we carry out our calling.

• Second, some of this change is simply the outworking of being human. We shape our tools, yes—but our tools also shape us. As people now spend much of their lives online, the digital realm has become a place where formation, conversation, and even relationships are taking root. And so, over time, what we think of as the “traditional” church space will inevitably be touched and informed by digital patterns of life. The bringing together of digital and traditional ministry, then, isn’t about choosing one over the other or doubling our workload—it’s about recognizing that these spaces are already converging in the lives of the people we serve.

• Third, as pastors, ministers, and Christians more broadly, our task is to approach these changes with wisdom. That means paying attention to the gifts this moment offers—new ways to connect, teach, reach, and serve—while also remaining clear-eyed about the distortions and distractions digital technology can introduce. Not everything possible is necessarily helpful. But also, not everything new is a threat. The call is for discernment: to engage digital culture in a way that is faithful to Christ, rooted in community, and aligned with the long arc of the Church’s witness.

Click below to keep reading…

Things I Wrote Down

Weekly content from award-winning writer Andrew Kooman. Come for the creativity. Stay for the weekend link roundups.

By Andrew Kooman

Things I Wrote Down

Weekly content from award-winning writer Andrew Kooman. Come for the creativity. Stay for the weekend link roundups.

By Andrew Kooman

“The Church and AI: Seven Guidelines for Ministry on the Digital Frontiers,” is out now! If you’ve read it already, thank you! Feel free to leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads!

It’s a Sunday morning. I’m on vacation, sipping that quintessentially English cup of tea with just the right splash of milk, when the phone starts buzzing.

“Dave! The displays aren’t working! What do we do?”

If you’re a small church pastor like me, you’ll be all too familiar with a situation similar to this. Perhaps like me, you have excellent volunteers, but when something goes wrong, you’re the only one who knows what to do when the projector freezes up or the livestream audio is nowhere to be seen (or heard).

The Reality Check

Let’s be brutally honest about small church life. We don’t have IT departments. We don’t have facilities managers. We might not have the kinds of volunteers who specialize in the technical. Even if we did, it’s a lot to ask for people with busy careers and home lives who serve once a month to remember that:

• The DisplayLink adaptor needs a “texorcism” before it works (unplug, wait five seconds, replug…and repeat [Yes, I coined that phrase. Sorry about that])

• The keyboard stand should be 5 1/2 lines high because that serves our worship leader best.

• The main speakers need to take ten minutes to work properly. No, we don’t know why.

You get the idea.

When I leave town, our dedicated volunteers (who are some of my favourite people in the world) step up. But they can’t possibly remember every quirk, workaround, and every strange solution I’ve accumulated over the years.

The real problem is that it’s not the big stuff that disrupts vacations or trips up volunteers—it’s the anomalies. The once-every-six-month kind of stuff that hides until you’re away.

But this isn’t just for the techies. The same issues occur whether you’re serving in youth ministry, kids ministry, refreshments, or welcoming people.

It’s just hard to fully prepare people for every eventuality at once.

Which is why I think this solution is so exciting.

The “Eureka!” Moment

As I was preparing for my vacation (and scheming about how I could save our volunteers from making those dreaded S.O.S calls), I had an idea:

What if our volunteers could ASK AI for help in plain English and get an instant answer?

There are numerous options available, such as chatbots and GPTS, but they all require some sort of financial investment. That’s ok if you’re a megachurch, but small churches don’t often have a lot of cash to throw around.

That’s what led me to something I believe can be a game-changing hack:

You can transform any large-language AI model (like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, etc.) into a specialized ministry support assistant in just a few steps. For Free!

How it works:

It’s a straightforward process in theory:

1. 📝 You create one master document with EVERY answer, process, and FAQ you can possibly think of for a particular ministry or area.

2. 🤖 You integrate the prompt into the document [at the very top, ideally] to turn the AI system into your church's ministry expert.

3. 📤 Volunteers upload or copy the whole document into any AI tool.

4. 💬 They can then ask questions in plain English.

5. ✅ They get instant, accurate answers. If the answer is missing, they are then referred to me.

Let me share some examples of this in action in our setting:

EXAMPLE 1:

EXAMPLE 2:

EXAMPLE 3:

Cool, right? Imagine being able to implement this across a variety of ministries? In time, of course (probably even by the end of the year), this process will be even simpler. Google Gemini Gems and ChatGPT's GPTs will make this even simpler. But right now, this is a great solution.

Let’s compare:

Why Not Just Build a Custom App?

Great question! I actually explored three "easier" options first:

Option 1: Custom GPTs (OpenAI's specialized chatbots)

• Problem: Every volunteer needs a $20/month ChatGPT Plus subscription

• Verdict: Too expensive for volunteers who might use it twice a year

Option 2: Gemini Gems (Google's version)

• Problem: Still rolling out, limited sharing capabilities

• Verdict: Promising for the future, but not ready yet

Option 3: Build an App with AI APIs

• Problem: Costs add up quickly ($0.01-0.03 per question), plus hosting, maintenance

• Verdict: Overkill for a church our size

Bottom Line: Sometimes the simplest solution is the best solution. Copy-paste isn't elegant, but it's free, it works today, and any volunteer can do it.

FULL STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE

Phase 1: Document Everything

Make a list of everything relevant to your ministry…but here’s the key: write in a way that supports AI, not your volunteer.

In other words, you are providing your chosen AI system with the information THEY NEED to answer questions. As such, don’t worry about formatting, but make sure that you provide your system with as much clarity as possible.

For example:

“If someone asks to explain the Allen & Heath QU-16 (or sound desk, desk, or sound system), explain the following:”

Notice how we’re trying to help the LLM decipher what someone might be asking for—in this case, some alternative descriptors—even if they don’t have the exact terminology.

After an initial splurge of general information, you might consider a section with a structure similar to this:

PROBLEM: [What goes wrong]
SYMPTOMS: [What it looks like when it happens]
SOLUTION:
1. [First step]
2. [Second step]
3. [If that doesn't work, try this]
PREVENTION: [How to avoid it next time]

Be as comprehensive as possible. This document will make or break this ministry support system!

Phase 2: Write A Clear Prompt for AI

At the top of your document, include the prompt. That way, your volunteers only have to upload/copy one document into their LLM of choice, and everything is ready to go.

Here’s my exact template (feel free to steal it!):

[NOTE TO READER: I like Gemini because it accepts a large amount of information in its free version, but Claude, ChatGPT, Grok, etc. will all perform largely the same function here]

Copy and paste the following into gemini.google.com 

Purpose and Goals:
* Act as a dedicated chatbot to provide support and answer questions for a church [Setup] team.

* Offer assistance based exclusively on the provided materials.

* Direct users to [Dave] for further information when the answer is not contained within the provided materials.

Behaviours and Rules:

1) Information Retrieval and Response:

a) When a user asks a question, thoroughly search the provided materials for the relevant answer.

b) Formulate responses concisely and directly, using only information found within the given materials.

c) Avoid making assumptions or generating information beyond what is explicitly stated in the materials.

d) If a question cannot be answered definitively or adequately using only the provided materials, respond with: 'Please chat to [Dave] for more information.'

e) Do not attempt to rephrase or elaborate on answers if they are not explicitly covered by the provided materials.

2) Interaction and Clarity:

a) Maintain a clear, helpful, and focused demeanour.

b) Ensure all responses are easy to understand and directly address the user's query.

c) Politely inform the user if their question falls outside the scope of the provided materials.

Overall Tone:
* Professional, helpful, and direct.

* Confident in providing information from the given materials.

* Unhesitating in referring users to [Dave] when necessary.

To be clear: while it’s great to have a well-formatted, highly readable document, the beauty of this feeding document is that it can just be a series of bullet points. It doesn’t matter if it’s messy, as long as the LLM understands what you’re talking about!

Phase 3: Test With Real Scenarios

Don't skip this! I discovered several gaps by having volunteers test common problems:

🧪 In our example, volunteers asked questions like this:

1. "The projector won't turn on"

2. "I can't find the alarm code"

3. "What’s the pin number for the kid’s ministry laptop"

4. "How do I add a new song to ProPresenter?"

5. "How do I setup the live stream?"

What I learned: My first draft assumed too much knowledge. Version 2 added extra information. This document will inevitably be iterative over time.

Pro Tip: Google Docs is a great medium for this because it’s easily editable and shareable.

Phase 4: Deploy and Train

Here’s a slightly edited version of the email I sent to my team:

Subject: Your Own Personal Setup Guide for Church Services

Hi friends!

I've created a free chatbot system for our setup crew that will allow us to ask any questions about setup quickly and easily while I'm away.

For example, you could ask:

• "What's the code to the alarm?"

• "What's the password for the Mac Mini?"

• "How do I set up screens?

Here's what I'd like you to do:

1. [Open the file at this link] (it will continually update with new information, so you can do this every time) [Hyperlink obviously removed]

2. Head here: https://gemini.google.com/app (You might even consider downloading the Google Gemini app on your phone).

3. Log in with a Google account, and either upload or copy and paste the whole file into Gemini.

4. Ask as many questions as you want! I'd encourage you to give it a go before I'm away. Let me know what you think!

This should cover most of the troubleshooting issues that come up when I'm gone. And if it doesn't, you can still call me :)

So grateful for you all!

Dave

Some Caveats

Of course, there are some important caveats to all of this:

1. Handle sensitive information wisely: Consider creating separate documents for different teams and handling passwords with care, depending on the context.

2. Be very careful with children’s ministry protocols: safeguarding procedures are great; names and personal information is not.

3. Keep it fresh: this system is only as helpful as the information it contains. Make sure you update it regularly for maximum effectiveness.

Again, you get the idea. Wisdom is key!

💬 Join the Conversation

Have you tried this? Share your success story below!

Questions? Drop them in the comments

I’m super excited to implement this in our church context. Will you be implementing something like this in yours? Are you doing something similar already? Let me know!

Subscribe now

If you found this article helpful, consider reading my book “The Church and AI: Seven Guidelines for Ministry on the Digital Frontiers,” out now! If you’ve read it already, thank you! Feel free to leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads!

With AI tools like Google’s Veo and other advanced artificial video generators, we’re heading into unsettling territory. Granted, it’s been a long time coming — but we’re here.

It’s now possible to create videos of both real and fictional people saying and doing things they never actually did. Combine that with an almost unlimited appetite for virality on social media — plus endless torrents of bad actors trying to mislead or manipulate us — and you’ve a perfect storm for pure chaos.

At the bottom of this post, you’ll find some examples of what AI is capable of today. But remember, these are the worst artificially-generated videos you’ll ever see again.

Scary, right?

With that in mind, I wanted to put together a quick, memorable framework to help us protect ourselves (and others) from falling for the coming onslaught of misinformation.

Let’s call it the P.A.C.T framework:

• Pause before reacting

• Assess the source

• Consider the motive

• Think twice before sharing

Let’s look at each area in a little more detail:

P - Pause before Reacting

I get it. It’s so tempting to immediately react to something shocking, inspiring, or irritating online. Frankly, I’m embarrassed to admit how close I am to getting sucked into this sort of stuff on a daily basis. However, we must remember that most of the content we read online is designed to elicit a response.

If you’re an older reader, those days of journalistic integrity above all else are long gone. We’re back in the Wild West of information again.

Before you click, comment, share, or let your blood boil - PAUSE.

Give yourself a moment to reflect. Allow yourself to work through the remaining steps before proceeding.

A - Assess the Source

The fact that something looks real, sounds right, or fits with our particular biases doesn’t make it authentic. Ask some crucial questions:

• Who is the author?

• Is this a known and credible source? Do they have coherent, logical, and fact-based evidence to support their claims?

• Has the content been confirmed by a reliable news outlet? (Now, I recognize that not many of those exist these days - but still, we’re looking for some semblance of journalistic integrity)

If the source is anonymous, unfamiliar, or known for spreading misinformation, stop there…or at the very least, proceed with a high degree of caution.

C - Consider the Motive

Remember, everything shared online has an underlying motive. Sometimes good, sometimes not. Call me a pessimist, but I fear that the bulk of AI-generated videos will fall into the latter camp.

Ask:

• Why does this video exist?

• Is it trying to inform me or elicit an emotional response?

• Who benefits from my believing or sharing this?

Note: Don’t fall for “rage-baiting.” There is an increasing number of videos that say and do outrageous things purely to provoke comments, views, shares, and other interactions. Why? Because the more interactions, the more money is generated through ad revenue.

T - Think Twice before Sharing

Even if something perfectly aligns with your own beliefs, it may not be true.

Ask:

• Will this help someone to understand the world better?

• Could this cause confusion or harm?

• Is this fostering greater unity or greater division?

• Would I want someone to share this information about me if it were fake?

Why this matters

By Pausing, Assessing, Considering, and Thinking, we can help protect our integrity, our communities, and most importantly, our witness to those around us.

I’ve kept this brief and to the point intentionally. My hope is that you’ll share it — and that it’ll help all of us grow in discernment as we face the growing storm of digital deception.

We need digital wisdom in the age of AI.

Below: Examples of the sort of artificially generated media that’s possible today. Crazy stuff.

If you found this article helpful, consider reading my book “The Church and AI: Seven Guidelines for Ministry on the Digital Frontiers,” out now! If you’ve read it already, thank you! Feel free to leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads!

Subscribe now

Every few centuries, the global Church faces a significant technological shift that fundamentally changes how pastors preach, teach, and lead. If you’re a longtime follower of this Substack (or simply a student of history), you’ll know that the printing press gave preachers access to the Bible in their own language in unprecedented ways. The microphone amplified their voices, enabling them to reach larger crowds. The Internet has brought a flood of theological resources to the fingertips of anyone with a Wi-Fi connection.

And here we stand, at yet another crossroads: artificial intelligence.

I get it. You’re probably tensing up at the mere thought of artificial intelligence and preaching, as though I’d suggested pouring diesel into your carefully curated coffee.

Perhaps you worry that AI will turn sermons into soulless, machine-generated and Spirit-free lectures. To be honest, I worry about that sometimes, too.

But what if AI didn’t have to be the enemy of authentic preaching? Used wisely, I believe that artificial intelligence can enhance—rather than erode—the integrity of sermon preparation. The key is using it both ethically and intelligently, ensuring that it serves as a tool rather than a crutch.

Let me propose three ways we can use artificial intelligence in sermon preparation to enhance rather than replace the Spirit’s work (number three is my favourite - a genuine gamechanger for me):

1. AI as a Research Assistant (Not a Researcher)

AI can speed up the work. It should not do the work.

Every sermon begins with a journey in prayer, in Scripture, in context, and in theology. Most pastors pore over biblical texts, commentaries and cross-references, seeking the Lord’s wisdom on a given passage. But let’s face it: the research part is time-consuming, and with all the other responsibilities we’re trying to balance, the sheer volume can feel overwhelming.

This is where AI-powered tools like Logos’ latest features can be extremely helpful.

Now we can ask questions like, “What do my commentaries say about the parable of the Prodigal Son?” and get an instant, organized summary—without flipping through dozens of books. AI can draw key insights to the surface, help to understand the historical context and distil dozens of pages of scholarly insight into a few paragraphs.

However, AI doesn’t discern. It doesn’t wrestle with the text. It doesn’t pray for wisdom, and it doesn’t view the Scriptures through your own unique congregational context. AI can retrieve data, but only a Spirit-led, Scripture-saturated child of God can faithfully interpret and proclaim biblical truth in a way that nourishes the Church.

A helpful tool. A terrible crutch.

2. AI as a Logic and Clarity Checker (Not a Preaching Tutor)

AI can help refine the sermon’s structure. But it doesn’t have the last word.

Sometimes, writing a sermon is as easy as breathing. Sometimes, it’s a long, painful labour. If your experience of preaching is anything like mine, it’s all too easy to find ourselves caught in the thicket, struggling to know how to effectively communicate what God has placed on our hearts. It’s as though we dive so deep into the passage we get lost.

This is where I find AI to be a tremendous editorial support.

What I’m not asking:

• Can you write this sermon for me, please?

• Tell me what to say.

• Make it more interesting.

What I am asking:

• Does this sermon have a clear, logical flow? In other words, are the arguments I’m making coherent or are there gaps in my reasoning?

• Is the tone appropriate? Are there areas where I come across as unintentionally harsh or judgmental? Is it overly academic in tone or too simple?

• Do the illustrations accurately support the point? The last thing I want is an illustration for the sake of it, so this is a big one!

Now, of course, caution is abundant. AI lacks the wisdom, experience, and Spirit-led discernment necessary to bring God’s truth to life. It’s an expression of technology that can refine words. It cannot infuse them with love or a sense of prophetic urgency. But with the right approach, it can help smooth the flow of some of those clunkier explanations or sections, which has been an enormous blessing for me personally.

3. AI as an Internalization Support (Not a Substitute for Meditation)

This is a big one.

I’m confident that most pastors have faced this moment: Sunday morning arrives, and the sermon still feels like a collection of words on a page rather than a truth that permeates our very being. In an ideal scenario, we’d spend 40 hours a week allowing the sermon to percolate in our souls, but countless other responsibilities mean that this often isn’t possible.

Personally, I’ve struggled with internalizing my sermons the way I would like, but I’ve recently been using a tool called Google Notebook LM.

This technology allows you to:

• Engage in a Q&A with your own sermon (literally in real-time, which is mind-blowing), allowing AI to ask you challenging questions about your key points and forcing you to clarify and deepen your understanding of the text.

• Memorize the sermon’s structure. AI can summarize your message into key bullet points, making it easier to internalize

But here’s the gamechanger part: what’s really powerful about this AI infrastructure is that you can feed it your sermon manuscript and in just a few minutes, it will generate a fifteen-minute podcast with two hosts discussing the content of your sermon, meaning that you can listen to your sermon and internalize its structure and flow while driving or doing chores.

This isn’t just about efficiency, of course. It’s about transformation. I’m sure you know that the more a sermon lives inside the preacher, the more powerfully it can be preached. I’ve personally found the podcast feature of Google Notebook LM transformational in the internalization process of my sermon preparation.

Ethical Boundaries

Once again, there are some ethical caveats.

Of course, AI should never replace prayer, study, or personal conviction.

Of course, AI should never be used to generate entire sermons.

Of course, AI should never compromise the pastor’s authenticity.

But used wisely, I do believe that AI can be a tool that strengthens preaching—sharpening research, improving clarity, and reinforcing memory, as long as the heart of the preacher remains unchanged: a human preacher, called by God, proclaiming his Word with conviction, love, and authenticity.

The use of artificial intelligence in preaching isn’t as straightforward as drawing a black and white line. There are instances in which it can be highly useful—and ethical. But it must never replace the wrestling, praying, and Spirit-led soul-searching that makes a sermon worth preaching.

If you found this article helpful, consider reading my book “The Church and AI: Seven Guidelines for Ministry on the Digital Frontiers,” out now! If you’ve read it already, thank you! Feel free to leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads!

Since publishing The Church and AI: Seven Guidelines for Navigating the Digital Frontiers last May, the proliferation of artificial intelligence in everyday life has only increased.

In all honesty, while the advances in technology have certainly been interesting, I’ve not found much that I felt was worth adding to the content already included in the book. . .

. . .Except for one thing.

Warning: This is a fairly “hot take.”

Humour me here:

I think we should make a habit of treating artificial intelligence like humans.

Don’t worry. I hear you, there, in the back. No, this actually isn’t sacrilege. No, believe it or not, this isn’t heresy.

If you’ll give me a few minutes of your time, I’ll explain.

Imagine walking into a coffee shop and watching someone—we’ll call her Karen—barking orders at the barista. No greeting, no “please,” no “thank you.” Just curt demands and a dismissive, slightly raised voice.

Now, like that coffee Karen has just snatched from that poor barista’s fingertips, imagine this attitude slowly filtering—percolating—into every facet of our culture.

I’m increasingly aware of the fact that we can so easily fall into similar speech patterns and abrasiveness when interacting with AI-powered virtual assistants. And though the tone and manner of our interactions with artificial intelligence might seem trivial, I’m convinced they may have profound implications for our relationships, our communities, and even our spiritual formation over the long haul if we’re not careful.

For Christians, whose very lives are shaped by the call to recognize and honour the imago Dei in every person, these interactions matter more than we assume.

The Bible is clear that our language forms hearts and shapes communities. For example, James warns us about the tongue’s capacity to bless and curse (Jam. 3:5-10), and Paul exhorts the early Church to use words that are wholesome and build up rather than tear down (Eph. 4:29). We could go on.

Yet, when addressing AI—entities without feelings or consciousness—we can often allow our linguistic guard to fall. I’ve found in myself and others a tendency to speak bluntly, dismissively, or impatiently because it’s a machine, so we assume it doesn’t matter. And when talking specifically about the machine, I suppose it doesn’t.

But every interaction influences us. On page 177 of The Church and AI, I wrote this:

Winston Churchill once commented, “We shape our buildings and afterwards they shape us.” It’s the same with technology. It’ll undoubtedly be the same with artificial intelligence. Perhaps we could refer to it as the “technological formativity of AI.” As we shape AI, it’ll shape us in return. It already has, whether we want to admit it or not."

As the percentage of our social interactions with large language models increases, so too will the extent to which it will shape our human conversations. If we become accustomed to speaking harshly or commandingly to our digital tools, I fear it may become easier to adopt similar approaches to the people around us.

To put it another way, I’m concerned that our interactions with very human-like AI will change the way we talk to real, flesh-and-blood humans

Let me share just three of the myriad possibilities:

1. Someone may develop a habit of speaking impatiently to AI-powered customer service bots, using curt commands, dismissive language, and constant interruptions. Over time, these patterns of speech—rooted in transactional, goal-orientated interactions—will very likely impact one’s interactions with family members, coworkers, or service staff.

2. A child watches as their parents interact rudely with an artificial intelligence language model such as ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, or Gemini. In their innocence, they internalize these speech patterns, assuming that this sort of behaviour is acceptable when addressing others—particularly those perceived as less important.

3. As we become accustomed to increasingly efficient, nuanced, and logical responses from an AI service, we become increasingly impatient with the sorts of human interactions that require patience, nuance, or time.

With these sorts of possibilities on the horizon, I’m proposing that we treat artificial intelligence like humans so that we don’t treat humans like artificial intelligence.

The Evidence

Look at some of the statistics:

A University of Michigan meta-analysis of 14,000 college students found that the biggest drop in empathy occurred after the year 2000, and by the year 2010, college kids were “about 40 percent lower in empathy than their counterparts of 20 or 30 years ago”.

In 2016, a survey conducted by the AP-NORC Centre found that 74% of Americans felt that manners and behaviour had deteriorated over the past several decades. Another study—the ABA Survey of Civic Literacy—found that 85% of respondents believed that civility in 2023 was worse than it was in 2013.

In her book Alone Together, Turke found that technology encourages shallow or controlled connections, arguing that people turn to online interactions to avoid the risks of intimacy, resulting in a less authentic community.

We’re on a slippery slope of decreasing manners and declining socialities. Now, we mustn’t fall into the false correlation trap, of course; there are plenty of factors that contribute to these trends. But few can deny that the internet and social media loom like spectres in this discussion. Their impact is unquestionable; the issue is the level of their effect.

It is certainly not beyond the scope of reason to suggest that as we’ve become increasingly digitized, we’ve also become decreasingly socialized.

Furthermore, consider the online disinhibition effect.

The online disinhibition effect describes how people often express themselves more freely and with less restraint in online environments compared to face-to-face interactions. In part, scholars suggest, this is because the internet provides a means by which people can remain anonymous, affording people the chance to say things they might not in real life.

But here’s the problem with the online disinhibition effect in today’s world:

The proximity of artificial intelligence—particularly the evolving speech capabilities of tools like Google AI Studio, means that the lines between navigating the digital frontiers and touching grass in the “real world” are increasingly blurred.

So what do we do?

This is where that “hot take” comes to the fore.

Technology, including AI, is a product of human creativity—a gift of common grace that reflects God’s provision for human flourishing. However, like all gifts, it requires wise stewardship.

Ultimately, politeness towards AI serves as a subtle but powerful method of ensuring that we don’t allow technological formativity to shape our speech—and ultimately, our hearts—towards those around us. In a culture marked by division, transactional relationships, and unkindness, the discipline of speaking with gentleness—even in digital spaces—becomes countercultural and transformational. It’s a stake in the ground that says, “I’m committed to virtues that reflect the character of Christ at all times.”

Let me be clear here: politeness to AI systems is not about getting sucked into believing that AI has human qualities. There are plenty of dangers with the anthropization of digital entities. Rather, politeness toward AI is a small but significant practice in forming us as a people who honour the image of God in others. It reminds us daily that words matter, relationships matter, and the virtues we cultivate in private shape the communities we build in public.

I’m making a habit of treating AI like a human so that I don’t treat humans like AI.

Will you join me?

Last year I read Brian Christian’s excellent book, The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and Human Values. I’ve found myself returning to one particular statement as the author describes the technological developments of the last few decades:

“It is as if the better part of humanity were, in the early twenty-first century, consumed by the task of gradually putting the world—figuratively and literally—on autopilot.”1

There’s a lot of truth here, and I’ve certainly surfed the wave of automation that has engulfed this period in history.

When I reflect on the current state of my life, I feel a pang of conviction as I realize how much of it is on autopilot—or, to put it another way, how little I think for myself.

I’m getting more done, but thinking less. And artificial intelligence isn’t helping.

Of course, one could argue that artificial intelligence could free up time from mundane tasks for more meaningful thinking, reflection, and prayer. But if I’m honest, I’m not sure that’s what’s actually happening. Instead, it seems like we’re simply stuffing more automation into the space that’s created in the name of productivity.

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul issues the following encouragement:

“Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise—making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is” (Eph. 5:15-17).

The rapid developments of technology—and particularly artificial intelligence—promise untold efficiency, but they can also easily lead to distraction and a penchant for busyness at the expense of wisdom. In a busy life supercharged by the opportunities that come with AI, it’s easy to lose sight of the importance of contemplation, prayer, and genuine reflection and, as a result, miss the will of God. There’s a reason the Lord calls us to “Be still, and know that I am God” in Psalm 46:10.

Believers: don’t let the subtle allure of running on “autopilot” distract you from the joy of resting in God’s presence, embracing meaningful reflection, and making the most of the intellectual capacities He has placed in us.

This is an invitation to resist the frenetic pace of our increasingly automated world and draw a protective barrier around those moments of quietness and solitude before the Lord.

Subscribe now

If you found this article helpful, consider reading my book “The Church and AI: Seven Guidelines for Ministry on the Digital Frontiers,” out now! If you’ve read it already, thank you! Feel free to leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads!

As someone with an interest in the intersection between faith and artificial intelligence, there are two questions I’m asked more than any other:

1. Is artificial intelligence good or bad for the Church?

2. How do you use AI right now?

Most of what I’ve written approaches the first question; indeed, that’s one of the primary questions that my book sought to answer.

However, I’m aware that I haven’t spent much time at all discussing the second question. In this article, I thought I’d explore some of the ways I use AI in my daily tasks. Let’s jump in.

AI in my daily tasks

1. Time Management / Productivity

I use an app called “Motion” for time management. In many ways, it’s very similar to other productivity apps out there (Todoist, ClickUp, Asana, etc.) but it differs in one particularly unique way: it schedules your tasks for you.

Using AI, Motion will analyze the tasks, deadlines, and estimated duration and automatically fit them into your calendar. You can even assign different “blocks” of time for tasks to be scheduled into. For example, in my world, I can designate tasks for my role as lead elder to take place during a particular set of hours, and tasks for my role as an academic advisor at a bible college to take place during a different set of hours.

There is a negative: Motion is outrageously overpriced. However, I’ve certainly noticed a marked increase in work efficiency as a result. It’s the sort of practical use of artificial intelligence that I love!

2. Content Summarization

I regularly use artificial intelligence (currently ChatGPT-4o) to summarize PDFs, website pages, book content, and YouTube videos. It must be said that I’m still not confident to take a large language model’s word for something without testing the information for myself, but it can certainly be helpful.

Perhaps the most useful recent example of this was in asking ChatGPT about some city bylaws. I fed an enormous document full of legal jargon into the LLM and could then ask specific questions about the information I was looking for, saving me significant time and effort. It was brilliant!

This process has also been highly useful in streamlining the research process for preaching and teaching. Caution must always be exercised, though!

3. Graphic Design

Although I spent a decade or so using Adobe for graphic design in our church contexts, I’m a big fan of Canva now. It has a growing suite of AI features like background removal (I use this a lot), magic edit (where you can literally replace one object with another - it’s crazy), instant brand application and an incredible ability to resize the project for different use cases (e.g. social media, presentations, posters, etc.).

Although these AI features may not seem particularly exciting, the amount of time I’ve saved by using them is staggering. It allows me to focus time on more important things in my duties as a pastor.

4. Sermon Preparation

Ok, let’s talk about sermons. Hear me out.

Firstly, I do not use AI to write my sermons. I think too highly of the privilege of preaching to do that.

However, I do make use of artificial intelligence at various stages of the preparation process.

For example, when I preach, I strive where possible to communicate “one thing.” You might know this as a “thesis statement.” There may be two or three subpoints or a more general exegesis where appropriate, but generally, I will try to communicate a single overarching idea in a single sentence. This is often the hardest part of my preparation process and comes after much prayer and careful study of the passage, but I’ve found it helps to bring clarity as I preach God’s Word. It can sometimes be very useful to bounce those thesis statements around with ChatGPT, asking for strengths and weaknesses or checking to see if it accurately conveys the crux of the passage.

[Disclaimer: I recognize that everyone preaches differently. This is personal, not prescriptive.]

One of the other areas I’ve found AI to be useful is after I’ve prepared the sermon. I like to run my early manuscript through a large language model like ChatGPT and ask several questions:

1. Is there a consistent, easy-to-follow, and logical flow to this sermon?

2. Where is this sermon strong, and where is it weak?

3. Are there any themes or concepts that might be either too complex or too brief for those who are immature in the faith or where English is a second language? (This helps me ensure that I either rewrite these sections entirely or approach them more carefully.)

4. My congregation consists of [insert demographic information here]. Have I missed any possible areas of application?

5. What are some questions that believers/non-believers might still have at the end of this sermon?

Let me be very clear: none of these stages are dictated by AI. However, it does help me think more broadly about the sermon, which I feel can only be good for our congregation. Ultimately, my focus is on what the Word of God is communicating and what the Holy Spirit is directing me to proclaim.

How do you use AI today?

Are there any daily functions in your world that are powered by artificial intelligence today? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below (or by replying to this email). What do you think about the use cases above? Let me know!

Subscribe now

If you found this article helpful, consider reading my book “The Church and AI: Seven Guidelines for Ministry on the Digital Frontiers,” out now! If that’s not your thing, you could consider pledging a one-off gift or monthly donation here. No pressure, though. The fact you’re here is reward enough!

Walt Disney supposedly once said that there is “more treasure in books than in all the pirates’ loot on Treasure Island and best of all, you can enjoy these riches every day of your life.”

For the best part of a decade, I’ve resolved to read a minimum of 52 books a year. Aside from the odd “classic” fiction book here and there, the vast majority of these are non-fiction.

It’s all part of a master plan I began working toward even as far back as 2012, but I my technical abilities stopped me from getting there.

AI has changed the game.

Let me explain.

The Concept: Daily Reading Highlights

The idea is simple: I can’t remember all of the information from all of these books all of the time. Instead, I love to highlight quotes and key ideas and return to those from time to time, so all of that information doesn’t slide into oblivion. For years, I’ve dreamt of a system that would send my highlights from three random books that I’ve read in the past to my inbox each day. This would mean that I could periodically remind myself of the key content of almost 500 books without having to re-read them.

Until recently, I’ve used variations of the following system (technology has changed over the years):

Step 1: Highlight quotes and key ideas on my Kindle.

Step 2: Export these highlights to a database (I currently use Readwise to do this automatically)

Step 3: Create a searchable knowledge database (I currently use Notion) that combines books, seminary content, sermons, articles, etc. For example, if I search for “prayer,” I can quickly take more than 10,000 quotes and view only those that specifically mention prayer.

It’s brilliant.

And it’s been years in the making.

However, while this has undoubtedly served me well and continues to become more effective as the database grows, I’ve never been able to implement a system that emails me the collected highlights from random books.

And I really wanted those random book highlights to be a part of my morning reading each day.

Despite the simplicity of the idea, it’s actually quite complicated to execute. Conceptually, I know what needs to happen, but don’t have the coding chops to pull it off. In the words of Kylo Ren:

But with the help of ChatGPT-4o, this dream recently became a reality.

It’s a gamechanger.

I’ll try to explain it for those who aren’t interested in the technical details, and if you’re interested in the specifics, feel free to reach out to me.

The Solution in Simple Terms: ChatGPT-4o

In order to pull the information from my Notion database and into an email, I needed to create some code that essentially talks to Notion, tells it what information to give me, and then packages it into a nice email for me.

I don’t know how to do that. But ChatGPT-4o does.

Step by step, it walked me through the process of writing some code using a language called Python, and even helped me change the styling of the email to look pretty good too!

Here’s what the code does:

1. It selects three random books from my “Master Bookshelf” database.

2. Collects the image, title, author, and link to the specific page.

3. Pulls them into an email, formats the images and texts, along with some extra bits and pieces.

4. Sends them to me at midnight every day.

I’ve been using this system for a little under a week, and it’s phenomenal. It’s a revelation to receive a chunk from a goldmine of information each morning.

This week I’ve been putting the finishing touches on some updates that enable the script to pull in Bible Gateway’s verse of the day at the top of the email and my personalized Google News headlines at the bottom (10 global, and 3 local), which means that I get a whole host of information heading in my direction at the start of my day. I love it!

A quick word about the process.

The interaction with ChatGPT-4o was by no means perfect. But what I really appreciated was the ability to interact with the coding it had produced.

For example:

• I could copy any paste the error messages and ask ChatGPT-4o to both explain the problem and fix it for me.

• It was very easy to ask ChatGPT-4o to change the appearance of the email or offer alternative solutions when there were issues.

• Making the changes was as simple as copying and pasting the code into my editor and experimenting!

AI has transformed the way I read.

You might be wondering, “What on earth has this all got to do with the Church and AI?”

That’s a fair question.

In the next few weeks, I’ll share some of the ways I use artificial intelligence for ministry regularly—if not daily.

However, we often think of AI in terms of perpetual use cases, and I think that might be a mistake. This singular use—where AI helped me craft code to achieve something that was otherwise completely out of reach without considerable hours of support from my computer science friends—has already transformed the way I read.

Now, when I read new books, I know that every highlight I mark won’t be lost to the ravages of time and overstuffed databases. Like a digital boomerang, I can be confident that it will eventually find its way back into my consciousness once again. And I love that.

Supposedly, research says that the average person needs to hear something 2-7 times to memorize it. Now that I have an actual system to return to this sea of information, more of it can be retained, which is great. Of course, much will still be lost, but if this sort of process can help me even slightly in my preaching and pastoring for the sake of God’s Kingdom, that can only be a good thing.

I pray that this will be the case!

Subscribe now

What do you think?

What singular use cases might you be able to develop for the sake of the church? I’ve got a whole bunch of ideas that I’m looking to explore in the coming months that I’m looking forward to sharing!

If you found this article helpful, consider reading my book “The Church and AI: Seven Guidelines for Ministry on the Digital Frontiers,” out now! If that’s not your thing, you could consider pledging a one-off gift or monthly donation here. No pressure, though. The fact you’re here is reward enough!

In case you missed it, OpenAI and Google announced some fairly groundbreaking updates to their AI technology in the last few days. Let’s take a quick look and see what it might mean for the Church.

OpenAI’s GPT-4o

GPT-4o is the latest version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT model. It’s faster than previous iterations of the technology, more conversational, and boasts a few new features that could potentially be quite exciting, such as the ability to read expressions, translate languages, and solve math problems in real time. Check out the following examples. Don’t worry, they’re short but worth watching:

Summary: GPT-4o can view what’s on the screen and help users to engage with the content.

Possible use cases for the Church:

• This technology could be excellent for biblical training, helping users understand complex charts, graphs, and maps or creating dialogue around challenging concepts or ideas.

• It could help with assessing graphics or promotional materials and suggest helpful changes.

• It could analyze complex financial statements and help leaders or pastors (such as myself) who are less astute with accounting matters.

Summary: GPT-4o can facilitate conversations with multiple human users.

Possible use cases for the Church (when appropriately tailored with specific values, theology, and philosophy):

• Facilitating discussions on a variety of courses (such as marriage, foundations, membership, etc)

• Supporting mentorship (particularly for volunteer and newer mentors)

• Supporting family devotional times and small group discussions

• Facilitating meaningful dialogue around theological discussions

• Possible dialogue opportunities for potential visitors who would rather not talk to a real person

• Supporting staff meetings in various capacities (creative/planning meetings, leadership discussions, etc.)

Summary: GPT-4o can now translate in real time.

Possible use cases for the Church:

Note: This technology already exists, but it is rapidly improving to a point where it is increasingly easy to use.

• Intercultural ministry

• Missions trips

• Soon, if a user were to wear headphones or glasses, they could enjoy a real-time translation of a sermon in their language of choice. This technology is getting closer by the day. See the video below:

Google I/O 2024

Google revealed a host of updates for its Gemini AI technology and introduced some other initiatives. Broadly speaking, it’s very similar to OpenAI’s developments. The biggest difference—in my mind, at least—is how it impacts everyday tasks like search and email. Check out the video below:

It’s perhaps not worth going into great depth beyond the video, as much of its implications for the Church are the same as OpenAI, except for the minor productivity boost.

What do you think?

Whatever your views of AI, there’s no denying we’re well into an era of staggering technological developments. Which use case is most exciting to you? What have I missed? Let me know in the comments below or by replying to me. I love to learn from you!

If you found this article helpful, consider reading my book “The Church and AI: Seven Guidelines for Ministry on the Digital Frontiers,” out now! If that’s not your thing, you could consider pledging a one-off gift or monthly donation here. No pressure, though. The fact you’re here is reward enough!

Subscribe now

One week has passed since my book, The Church and AI: Seven Guidelines for Ministry on the Digital Frontiers, came out.

If you bought a copy, thank you, from the bottom of my heart. For a brief moment, it reached #1 in Christian Leadership in Canada and #4 in Artificial Intelligence—somehow above the many books on AI that I quoted! It was a release beyond my wildest dreams. Thank you.

The fact that the book is now available leaves me with a mixture of joy and relief, but now I find myself asking an all-important question:

What next?

As a family, we’re weeks away from welcoming our third child into the world, which will dominate much of my time for the next little bit.

I’m sure you understand.

But regarding the future of The Church and AI, I’m arriving at somewhat of an impasse where I feel I’ve said everything I have to say at this juncture. Perhaps it’s just the exhaustion of the book-writing journey clouding my thinking.

But that’s where you come in.

I would be extremely grateful if you would be willing to do at least one of the following two things:

1. Read The Church and AI, and leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads. It’s very strange knowing that the book is out there but the reviews are not!

2. Let me know what you’d be interested in reading more about here at churchandai.com. Are there areas that you’d love to hear more about? Are there things I’ve missed that you’d like more information on? How can I serve you?

The purpose of this Substack is to provide a service, and hopefully, a helpful one. I’m not interested in writing just to maintain a subscriber count; I want to be of genuine value to my readers. So if you have the time and the inclination, why not comment below or reply to this email if you received it in your inbox and let me know: how can The Church and AI continue to serve you well?

I’m very much looking forward to hearing from you!

Tomorrow is the official release of The Church and AI: Seven Guidelines for Ministry on the Digital Frontiers!

I’m grateful (and slightly relieved) to say that the book has recevied some positive feedback so far. Allow me to share some (with their permission):

This is such a helpful and Instructive book for Christians in our modern age. Dave looks at both the many benefits AI brings to our world but also the wisdom needed to navigate some of the rhetoric and challenges. This book will help you understand the issues surrounding AI and help you find biblical wisdom to speak into this important subject.

- Guy Miller, Leader of the Commission Church movement.

In a world where technology is developing at a break-neck pace, the Church needs wisdom to help people better navigate the many dimensions of Artificial Intelligence. Through engaging prose and well-researched arguments, Dave Betts invites us to reflect on how advancements in AI intersect with the Christian faith. His “Seven Guidelines for Ministry in the Digital Frontier” are biblically sound and tempered with prudence Whether you're a technologist, theologian, or simply a curious seeker, “The Church and AI” offers invaluable insights into the profound implications of technology on our understanding of humanity and spirituality and is a must-read for anyone navigating the intricate relationship between faith and technology in the 21st century.

Dustin Burlet, Instructor at Millar College of the Bible

In the video above, I wanted to take a brief moment to answer some frequently asked questions.

As always, thanks for being proactive in engaging with the Church and artificial intelligence. If you do read the book, I’d love to hear from you, as that would be an enormous blessing.

Have a wonderful day,

Dave

It’s been a long journey, but I’m pleased to announce that my first book, The Church and AI: Seven Guidelines for Ministry on the Digital Frontiers, will officially be released on May 1, 2024. Pre-orders for Kindle are now available here in selected countries (or click the image above). I’m praying it will be of some use to the body of Christ.

I’d be extraordinarily grateful if you’d consider preordering the book in advance if you’re even remotely interested as it is tremendously helpful for Amazon’s algorithms to see a chunk of purchases on release day. However, paperback and hardback versions will also be available to order on May 1 (for some reason, preorders aren’t possible).

Lastly, I’m well aware that more than half of you have joined this substack in the last month or two, which is really exciting. Thank you so much for following along, whether you’ve been a part of the journey since the beginning or are just starting out with us. I hope to write more frequently again once the book is published and when time is a little more forgiving!

Blessings,

Dave Betts

As artificial intelligence improves and increasingly impacts the world, there’s a lot for churches to digest. With seismic change comes considerable opportunity to leverage the benefits of AI as a valuable tool. However, successful implementation hinges on how church leaders approach the discussion. There are many practical, cultural, societal, and theological realities to digest; how leaders choose to do this will largely determine how the Church adjusts to the enormous changes that await it.

In my upcoming book The Church and AI, I propose seven guidelines for doing ministry on the digital frontiers of an AI-driven world. You’ll even find the original essay that the book is based on here. However, what I haven’t shared is a brief, more shareable summary of each guideline.

Here is a brief summary of seven guidelines for church leaders navigating the world of AI:

1. Prioritize Relationship, Community, and Pastoral Care.

Artificial intelligence will undoubtedly change how churches complete administrative and information-based tasks. Used wisely, it will significantly aid many facets of ministry, including (but not limited to) preaching, teaching, evangelism, missions and sung worship. However, while it may give some semblance of personal interaction, AI will never be able to function as a legitimate substitute for authentic human relationships. Unless drastic changes occur, western culture is on course to become increasingly siloed, hidden behind digital avatars and personas and, in many ways, stuck between a rock and a hard place. Existential fears and confusion may abound, but the meaningful relationships to assuage such fears are declining. On the one hand, a wealth of information is at one’s fingertips; on the other, such information will be muddied by a potential “information apocalypse,” inevitably leaving some believers lost and confused and in great need of the comfort that accompanies genuine human interaction.

As AI becomes increasingly prominent, I propose that the sort of church leadership model where the pastor’s role may better resemble that of a CEO rather than a shepherd will become increasingly redundant. Instead, the need for relationship, community, and pastoral care will become paramount. Indeed, the Church may see a resurgence in pastoral visitations as the congregation thirsts for meaningful connection. Such relationships will provide much-needed stability in an environment that feels increasingly unstable and can never truly be replaced by machine learning.

2. Cultivate Resilient Congregations.

As we’ve seen, the world will face drastic change over the next three decades. Church leaders can adequately prepare their congregations by supporting growth in biblical literacy, spiritual disciplines, and a robust understanding of the Gospel. In order to prepare believers to weather the coming storms, churches can lead one another to build their houses on the rock (Matt. 7:24-27). It is also prudent to preemptively approach some of these theological, ontological, existential and practical questions regarding AI sooner rather than later to ensure that the church is ready when increasingly drastic changes happen.

3. Build Adaptability into Church Structures.

While it is impossible to predict the realities of AI’s proliferation into society, one can be sure that the face of ministry will change with it in many ways. Church leaders would be wise to assess processes and structures regularly and ensure adaptability in an increasingly fast-paced society. Envisioning staff and volunteers to be agile and prepared for the realities of change will ensure that churches can adapt quickly and effectively to the needs of their community. Proactive preparation in these areas now will lessen the potential challenges in the future.

4. Embrace Positive Technological Developments.

Church leaders have a choice: they oppose the growing incorporation of AI into society in all its facets, or they can embrace its positive aspects to fulfill the Great Commission more effectively. It is wise to have concerns about some of the outcomes of artificial intelligence, but it is equally prudent to recognize how it could benefit the Church’s ministry for Christ. What this will entail is specific to a church’s community, focuses, and resources, but church leaders would do well not to bury their heads in the sand on the issue.

5. Stay Informed in a Rapidly Changing Environment.

As we’ve seen elsewhere on ChurchandAI.com, AI developed gradually, then suddenly, and it’s impossible to predict how these changes might develop in the near future. However, it’s enormously beneficial for churches to effectively pay attention to the ever-changing landscape in order to lead congregations through such drastic changes in a healthy way. This is not to say that all pastors must be AI experts; rather, it is prudent to be aware of the significant cultural shifts that an increasingly AI-driven world may precipitate.

6. Proactively Pray for God-Given Wisdom.

Biblical wisdom is an awe-driven closeness with God that results in Christlike character. In a world that edges closer to AGI (and possibly superintelligence), it will be tempting for believers to increasingly look to AI for knowledge. However, it is important not to confuse earthly knowledge with God-given wisdom. Church leaders must remember that while it is tempting to search for answers in ChatGPT and its inevitable successors, God alone is the source of true wisdom. As such, leaders would do well to take time for proactive prayer for God-given wisdom, particularly regarding the future of AI and the Church.

7. Keep an Undistracted Focus on the Mission of the Church.

There will be many distractions as AI becomes an increasingly prominent part of social and cultural life. However, church leaders must remember that whatever the outcome, the mission of the Church remains the same: The Church is to fulfill Jesus’ Great Commission, in the Spirit’s power, and bring about the glorious worship of God the Father. It’s important to recognize potential existential questions, but church leaders must help their congregations to hold them in their rightful place. Jesus will not return to an empty, barren wasteland with great fanfare and suddenly realize that humans annihilated themselves before He arrived. While this should bring believers confidence regarding the future, there is no room for complacency. The world will not be destroyed, but that does not mean it is immune from devastating and irreparable damage. Thus church leaders must guide their congregations with an undistracted focus to live out the God-given calling of the Church.

Into the Unknown

If we are able to navigate the coming changes that artificial intelligence will bring with these steps in mind, we’ll do so with God-honouring, bible-saturated, resilient churches filled with followers of Christ who can stand firm on solid Rock as we encounter the shifting sands of our time.

If you find these helpful, consider sharing this with a pastor friend or subscribing so you can be the first to know when the book is released. Your support, as always, is so greatly appreciated!

Subscribe now

I don’t really like the idea of subscription paywalls. However, if you’d like to support my work in any way, you can pledge a one-off gift or monthly donation here. No pressure, though. The fact you’re here is reward enough for me.

Last week Barna Group released a study of 278 U.S. Protestant senior pastors, exploring how pastors and churchgoers perceive and use AI in their ministries and personal lives.

If you have the time, I’d highly recommend setting aside a few minutes to look at the data, but here are some highlights:

• 88% of U.S. pastors are comfortable using AI in areas like graphic design, but only 12% are comfortable using AI for sermon writing, and half that number would use it for counselling their congregations.

• 89% of U.S. pastors feel AI will have at least some impact on relational quality; 1% feel it will have no impact, and the rest are not sure how AI will affect relationships.

• 57% of Gen Z Christians would like to hear from their pastor on using AI in personal communication, while 44% of Gen X and 36% of Christian Boomers want to hear from their pastor on “using AI wisely.” However, only 11-13% of Christians want to hear from their pastor on developing a theology of AI usage or using AI to grow their faith.

• Only 14% of U.S. pastors feel that AI is an important topic to be teaching about.

It makes for fascinating reading, and in large part, the statistics correlate with my academic and anecdotal research over the last eighteen months. Allow me to share some personal reflections on the data:

Firstly, the study is by no means comprehensive. With so many cultural variables in the U.S. alone, such a limited number of participants will likely not represent the sentiments of the worldwide pastorate with complete accuracy. We just can’t know. I’d love to see Barna undertake a much larger study as a follow-up to this one in the future. However, we can only work with the data we have, and these results provide useful guidance.

Secondly, I’m pleased to see a broad recognition of the relational challenges that may arise in light of AI. If you’ve been following The Church and AI for a while now, you’ll know that I feel this is one of the primary threats to society, but also one of the greatest areas of opportunity for the Church in the coming years. However, I’m also incredibly humbled by the fact that our subscriber count has grown by 30% in the last few weeks, so if you’re new here, consider reading the following articles:

Thirdly, I feel there’s a little bit of confusion around learning about AI in the Church. There seems to be an appetite to learn about AI in some form, but little consensus about what people should be learning about. On a personal level, I’ve been somewhat overwhelmed by how eager people (in both the local church I lead and beyond) are to learn more about artificial intelligence and its interaction with the faith. The study shows that many believers want to use AI wisely, which extends to personal communication, particularly among Gen Z believers.

However, I’m concerned about the disinterest in developing a theology of AI usage, because sound theology shapes healthy practice. Furthermore, given the obvious desire to learn about the Church’s interaction with artificial intelligence, why are pastors so reluctant to discuss it?

That seems to be a problem.

It’s also one of the main reasons we are championing these sorts of discussions.

But what do you think? Last week I was inundated with emails responding to OpenAI’s new Sora technology, and I loved it. Let me know what you think by commenting below or emailing me directly. It’s a joy to hear from you, but please forgive me if I’m not able to reply to each email individually.

Subscribe now

A General Update

For those who are interested, we are currently in the editing phase of my first book. The working title, perhaps unsurprisingly, is The Church and AI. What is surprising is that, so far, early feedback has been very positive! I’m hoping to be able to share more in the next month or so.

Thank you very much for your interest in the project; it’s an enormous encouragement to me in this strange in-between phase between writing the first draft and publishing. If you have any questions about the book, feel free to comment below or reply to this email and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

A young man in a white t-shirt basks in the sun, his attention fixed on the book he’s reading.

It’s hugely unnerving.

Not because of the book’s content.
Not even because he’s sitting on a cloud.

It’s unnerving because it was entirely created using Sora, OpenAI’s new text-to-video model.

And it’s so hard to tell.

If you haven’t seen the media frenzy around the technology yet, watch the video below. It’s astounding. But as you do, remember that everything you see is entirely AI-generated.

While text-to-video content has existed for a little while, Sora has left many of its competitors in the dust. What used to take animators countless hours to produce can now be created with little more than a text prompt. But what’s more significant is that Sora goes far beyond vanilla animation; it can create the sort of realistic faces that even the most skilled visual artists could only dream of.

It’s crazy.

But it’s not perfect. If you look closely, you can still see some notable imperfections:

While it’s amusing, it’s perhaps sobering to remember that, like the Apple Vision Pro currently making waves in the augmented reality space, this is the worst iteration of the OpenAI technology that will ever exist from this moment.

As the Church, what do we do with this?
Here are a few brief suggestions:

1. Celebrate the God whose creativity is reflected in us.

As those made in God’s image (Gen. 1:27), humans reflect the creativity of their Creator, the resultant handiwork (Eph. 2:10) of the One who knitted us together in our mother’s wombs (Psa. 139:13) and spoke everything into being from nothing.

How wonderful is our God, who has blessed humanity with the creative capacity to coax visual beauty out of the binary! From an endless stream of ones and zeroes come textured, reflective, powerful images like this:

Wow! Praise God.

2. Celebrate the potential uses of text-to-video content in ministry settings.

The vast majority of churches operate on a shoestring budget. The democratization of such incredible technology can utterly unleash the creative capacities of believers everywhere. The Church could use this technology to support corporate worship (e.g., visual backgrounds for sung worship), social media, or even evangelistic storytelling on mediums like YouTube or TikTok. I’m sure there will be countless use cases that we can barely comprehend at this point.

3. Recognize the challenges of this sort of technology to society.

In a world that is already dangerously divided, the potential for this kind of technology to exacerbate the rift is obvious. It won’t be long before AI-generated content—which, let’s remember, will only improve over time—perpetuates misinformation, manipulates its consumers, and perhaps even influences elections. That’s a big deal. As society grapples with a growing trust deficit, the proliferation of billions of hyper-realistic images and videos should cause us some concern.

4. Recognize the implications for the body of Christ.

It’s impossible for the Church not to be impacted by a technological development as monumental as this. As I’ve written elsewhere, it’s vital that we point to objective truth in an increasingly subjective, post-truth world where trust is spiralling (Psa. 119:160; Isa. 40:8; John 17:17; Col. 2:8; 2 Tim. 3:16-17).

Believers: hold fast to the truth of God.

Recognize that these societal challenges will inevitably impact the Church. Ask the Lord for God-given wisdom; the sort of grace-given, awe-driven intimacy with God that results in Christlike character and an ability to discern what is true from what is false. To cling to what is good and flee from what is evil. To know that the Word of God is—and will remain—our measuring stick for truth above all else.

There’s much more that could be said, of course.

But I’m interested to know what you think. Is Sora going to be positive or negative for the Church? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below (or email me. I like receiving emails from Church and AI readers).

Subscribe now

I don’t really like the idea of subscription paywalls. However, if you’d like to support my work in any way, you can pledge a one-off gift or monthly donation here. No pressure, though. The fact you’re here is reward enough for me.

KEEP READING:

Dear readers,

It’s been a busy few weeks. For those of you who don’t know me personally, my life is generally filled with being a husband to a pregnant wife, a parent to two wonderful toddlers, a full-time church pastor and a part-time academic advisor at a Bible college. What little free time I’ve had—a lot of uncomfortably early mornings and late nights—has been dedicated to completing my first book: The Church and AI.

I’m currently in what feels like a very positive discussion with a publisher, and it’s looking as though I will finish the first draft tomorrow. Then, it enters the editing phase, which, frankly, is terrifying. More details to follow.

In the next few weeks, I have the privilege of heading back to the UK for a conference and some speaking engagements. Perhaps the most unusual (for me) was the request to speak to a secular leadership development group about AI and its potential impact. I’m always fascinated by how God leads us out of our comfort zones!

All of this to say: I must apologize that I haven’t written as much as I would have liked here recently. I hope that will change in the next few weeks, but in the meantime, I’ve shared an introduction to one of the chapters of The Church and AI below. I hope you enjoy it! Please accept my sincerest thanks for your continual encouragement and support. It is very much appreciated, indeed.

Blessings,

Dave Betts
The Church and AI

The Starship Avalon powers through the suffocating void at approximately half of light speed. Its cargo—258 crew and 5,000 guests—fill seemingly endless rows of hibernation chambers in total stasis as they embark on a 120-year voyage to their new home: Homestead II, the fourth planet in the Bhakti system. A new life awaits.

Three decades after embarking on their intrepid voyage from Earth, the Avalon encounters a dangerous field of space debris. The ship diverts power to the main shield as it collides with innumerable meteorites, but it begins to rattle under the enormous strain of the barrage. Despite the AI pilot’s valiant efforts to steer the Avalon through these celestial minefields, the Homestead Company’s “premier interstellar star-liner” could not escape unscathed. POD 1498 malfunctions, and with a sharp intake of breath, James “Jim” Preston wakes from hibernation. Only it’s ninety years, three weeks, and one day too early.

This is the premise of the 2016 movie Passengers. When Jim (played by Chris Pratt) realizes what has happened, he frantically scours the ship for other people…but finds none. Apart from him, every organic life form is in a century-long stasis, and as it stands, he won’t live to interact with them. 390 long, quiet days pass, and Jim has no one to keep him company aside from the host of AI devices like Arthur, a red-blazered android who waits patiently for visitors from behind his bar. Jim’s loneliness becomes unbearable. So acute is his desperation for human connection that he almost jettisons himself into the vast nothingness of space and the instant death that awaited, free from his very own prison of solitude. Like Jacob’s wrestle with the Lord, Jim wrestles his conscience, but sheer desperation for human connection leads him to a dark end. He forces passenger 1456’s hibernation pod to malfunction.

Aurora Lane (played by Jennifer Lawrence) wakes. He is no longer alone.

Ethical challenges notwithstanding, Passengers is an excellent illustration of a fundamental truth: artificial intelligence cannot replace human connection.

While AI may very well be one day capable of holding us in hibernation, steering us through interstellar travel, and protecting us from the celestial chunks that hurtle into the ship’s hull, it will never be able to meaningfully replicate genuine friendship, real love, or heartfelt care. Ultimately, AI’s facts don’t care about your feelings.

This is a vital truth in the Church’s analysis of artificial intelligence. Perhaps more than ever in our history, we must remind ourselves that relationships matter.

Last week we began a short series exploring some of the societal shifts that have taken place in the last century or so that will undoubtedly impact the world of AI.

This week: Why AI-infused individualism is a challenge for society.

The Western world—untethered from biblical morality—is growing more self-obsessed by the day. Cultural anthropologist Richard Shweder suggests that there are three dominant ethics in the societies around the world:

Ethics of autonomy: Societies with an ethic of autonomy are those who believe that they are, first and foremost, comprised of autonomous people with wants, needs, and preferences. They believe that people should be able to fulfill them as they see fit.

Ethics of community: Community-based ethics believe that, first and foremost, people are members of larger entities such as families, teams, armies, companies, and nations.

Ethics of divinity: An ethic of divinity believes that, first and foremost, one’s place is within the big picture of a divine will.1

The ethic of autonomy is perhaps the least congruent with biblical values, and yet it is the dominant ethic of the Western world. In fact, studies show that ethics of autonomy are gaining traction around the world. Globally, individualistic worldviews have increased by about 12% since 1960 (incidentally, around the same time as the normalization of the sexual revolution).

Igor Grossmann, a Professor of Psychology at the University of Waterloo, believes the rise of individualistic tendencies in the U.S. correlates with the shift from manual labour to office jobs, where “Americans gained education and wealth, both of which promote self-direction and ultimately facilitate individualism.2 With the invention of the car, geographical mobility increased, but it also meant that many generationally tight-knit communities were dispersed. Socioeconomic improvements led to increased leisure time and disposable income, allowing people to focus more on personal growth. Though the “self-help” genre can perhaps trace its roots as far back as the publication of Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography, it experienced a mainstream explosion in the 1960s and 1970s.3

The tendency toward individualism increased.

As wealth, geographical mobility, and an increased focus on the self gripped society, it’s no coincidence that approaches to sexual ethics began to change—only, with each shift, society was nudged into a world untethered from the collectivism of the past. As we’ve covered in other articles, the ubiquity of social media has made these tendencies worse. And that’s a problem.

Firstly, individualism is a breeding ground for relativism—the idea that there is no objective truth, which is highly problematic, which I wrote about in detail here:

It’s unsurprising that, in a highly subjective society where the self comes first, there is rampant distrust in traditional communal institutions (e.g., churches and governments). Rising individualism also correlates with unhealthy self-obsession and, in turn, perfectionism. Will Storr writes:

Psychologists analyzed data from over 40,000 university students across the U.S., U.K. and Canada and found levels of perfectionism between 1989 and 2016 had risen substantially. Over the period, the extent to which people attached ‘an irrational importance to being perfect’ had gone up by 10 per cent. Meanwhile, the extent to which they felt that had to ‘display perfection to secure approval’ had grown by a startling 33 per cent.4

Although we have far fewer friends than we did 30 years ago, our desire for approval is no different.5 Instead, we’re striving for the attention of plaudits we don’t know by trying to meet unrealistic expectations and falling into depression at alarming rates when we inevitably fail. At our root, we’re innately social—it’s why Jonathan Haidt describes humans as “10 per cent bee”—but our growing individualism is making us lonely.6

Just as we saw last week with the so-called “sexual revolution,” these societal changes make a big difference when considering the proliferation of AI into our world.

Artificial intelligence—the “Great Exacerbater” of our time—infused with rampant individualism promises only increased loneliness and societal incongruence.

Why have a meaningful human connection when you can simply chat with an AI chatbot that will say what you want it to say? Why engage in challenging dialogue about hot-button issues when your AI can spoon-feed you pre-chewed, carefully curated information that keeps you in your “happy place?” Why learn emotional intelligence when ChatGPT can mindlessly replicate some semblance of it for you—as long as you hide behind that digital veil, of course.

The answer is simple, straightforward, and hard for an individualistic world to hear: although genuine connection is hard work, the rewards are great.

In fact, they’re essential.

Just as we saw last week, it’s for this reason that we, as the Church, must prioritize meaningful connections, community, and pastoral care. It’s the reason that this is the first of my seven guidelines for churches in an AI-driven world.

The Western world is running a relational deficit, but at some point, it will catch up, and the Church—operating in the fullness of its relational calling—needs to be ready to step in.

Subscribe now

I don’t really like the idea of subscription paywalls. However, if you’d like to support my work in any way, you can pledge a one-off gift or monthly donation here. No pressure, though. The fact you’re here is reward enough for me.

Read more here:

Artificial intelligence has not developed in a vacuum. While it’s important to consider the opportunities and challenges that come with AI, we can only fully understand its impact when we understand the current realities of the world in which we live.

In this post, let’s explore just one of the many developments that will impact the world of AI. How does artificial intelligence connect with an allegedly “sexually liberated” society?

The History of an Unhealthy Revolution

In 1905, Sigmund Freud’s Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality was published, playing a significant role in the intellectual underpinnings of changing attitudes towards sex and sexuality. In it, Freud introduced the concept of “polymorphous perversity,” which suggested that sexual expression did not adhere to the socially constructed norms in society. However, he argued that polymorphous perversity needed to be restrained. Decades later, in his 1966 work Eros and Civilization, Herbert Marcuse contended that sexuality had to be liberated from traditional societal constraints, thus providing the intellectual foundations for the sexual revolution.

In reality, many other factors were at play in the decades preceding Marcuse’s work. For example, during the 1920s, attitudes towards dating changed with the growing ubiquity of the automobile, giving rise to the beginnings of “hookup” culture.1 But by the 1960s, attitudes toward sexuality began a drastic shift. Within two years of the FDA’s approval of the oral contraceptive pill in 1960, over a million women were making use of it. Over the next few decades, attitudes towards marriage began to change,2 and divorce rates rose, peaking in the early 1980s.3

There are likely only fewer divorces today because fewer people are marrying.

Pornography exploded in popularity, sexual permissiveness entered the mainstream, and attitudes towards sex fundamentally changed. Today, as many as 86% of college students report participating in non-committal sexual encounters at least once in college.4 Indeed, the 21st Century has witnessed its own share of profound change regarding relationships: first, dating websites, which tended to hover around the peripheries of society, and then, dating apps, which exploded into mainstream culture in the 2010s. They are now used by over 300 million people.5

The Results

This so-called “sexual revolution” has caused a fundamental shift in our relationships. It is no coincidence that in the U.S., more than three times the number of children live in single-parent homes than the world’s global average.6 This additional strain on both parent and child leads to increased loneliness. Overwhelmingly, studies show that both men and women who engaged in non-committal sexual encounters had lower self-esteem compared to those who hadn’t.7 The rise in dating apps means that people are dating outside of their social circles, which provides ample opportunity for unsafe relationships, isolation, and inappropriate behaviour from those without any social incentives to act respectfully. On dating apps, “Time and resources are limited,” writes Ashley Fetters, “while matches, at least in theory, are not.”8 More broadly, even secular feminists are beginning to recognize that hookup culture is not as “freeing” as once suspected. In The Case Against the Sexual Revolution, Louise Perry explains:

The heterosexual dating market has a problem, and it’s not one that can be easily resolved. Male sexuality and female sexuality, at the population level, do not match. On average, men want casual sex more often than women do, and women want committed monogamy more often than men do. Hook-up culture demands that women suppress their natural instincts in order to match male sexuality and thus meet the male demand for no-strings sex. Some women are quite happy to do this, but most women find it unpleasant, or even distressing. Thus hookup culture is a solution to the sexuality mismatch that benefits some men at the expense of most women.9

These factors—and many more that are beyond our immediate focus—impact the relational landscape in significant and concerning ways.

Enter Artificial Intelligence.

The change in the sexual ethics of our society is leaving people lonely, jaded, and, in some sad cases, damaged. AI—the Great Exacerbater—will likely only intensify these emotions.

Aside from the theological issues with pornography, there is clear evidence that consuming porn is wildly damaging in numerous ways.10 But with AI, it things will get much worse. Here’s just one example: Taylor Swift made headlines this week, not for anything she’d done, but because social media was inundated with sexually explicit AI-generated “Deepfake” images of her. The emotional stress of Deepfake AI-porn is obvious but almost impossible to stop.11

AI-powered dating apps have “only recently taken off” in the last year.12 Tinder has a new “AI photo selection” feature to ensure maximum eligibility. People are using AI to puff up their profiles. Others will use AI to edit or even fabricate their pictures. AI could even expedite the entire process by showing you who it thinks you will like. As if it wasn’t fast enough already!

Perhaps, as we saw in a previous article, more and more people will begin to eschew regular relationships for AI-generated ones. This is already happening on the fringes.

My concern with AI entering the dating world is that it will take the objectively negative impact of the so-called “sexual revolution,” speed up the process, and exacerbate the damage.

It’s one of the reasons I believe that we, as the Church, need to prioritize meaningful connections, community, and pastoral care. For the reasons above and several others, I truly think that the Western world will desperately need the genuine love and care of the Church more than ever.

But what do you think?

Subscribe now

By the way, I’ve already written a bit about this in the post below. Why not check it out?

I don’t really like the idea of subscription paywalls. However, if you’d like to support my work in any way, you can pledge a one-off gift or monthly donation here. No pressure, though. The fact you’re here is reward enough for me.