Why the Church's Mission Matters in an Age of Machine Learning
Artificial intelligence is ushering in unprecedented changes to our world. How does the Church press forward in these uncertain times?
Writer’s note: We’ve been exploring seven guidelines for church leaders as they lead churches into an AI-driven world. In this article, we’re looking at guideline 7: Keep an undistracted focus on the mission of the Church.
As my regular readers will know, I am currently (very publicly) writing a book through this Substack - now with the working title, “The Church and AI: Preparing for Ministry on the Digital Frontiers.” Thank you for journeying with me! Below is the first draft of one of the chapters. As such, these articles have been long. This is one of the last full chapters, meaning that the articles should return to a more easily consumable size (Hooray!).
Lastly, 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.
In September 1966, televisions in homes all over the USA rang out with the trills of a bassoon followed by one of cinema's most immediately recognizable themes. A lit fuse burned across the centre of the screen before the words “Mission: Impossible” announced a new spy show’s dramatic arrival. Over six decades, what began as an unknown pilot has firmly established itself as an iconic brand, spanning multiple seasons on TV and almost thirty years of Tom Cruise-helmed movies.
I’ve always loved one line in particular: “Your mission, should you choose to accept it . . .” Incidentally, the original line was “Should you decide to accept it,” but the idea is the same. It’s a fascinating line because, as far as I know, no one has ever chosen not to accept their mission! I wonder if there was a particularly short episode lying around on the cutting room floor where Briggs or Hunt said, “Actually, no, I’ll sit this one out. Come back with something else.”
As the Church, our mission is different. Jesus didn’t leave believers with any doubt as to whether there was a choice in the mission. There wasn’t. There isn’t. It was a command. An imperative. “Your mission, believer, irrespective of whether you accept it. . .”
On the precipice of profound cultural shifts, it’s easy for Christians to lose focus on the mission of the Church. For some, the possible existential realities of a world steeped in AI might dominate their thoughts. Others might be disheartened at the rapidly changing landscape of our time and the crumbling of comfortable societal norms. Still others may be filled with excitement at the possible opportunities presented by AI and desperate to capitalize on this nascent technology.
All of these sentiments have a place, so long as they don’t cause us to lose focus on the mission of the Church.
But what is the mission of the Church? In fact, what is the Church? In what follows, we’ll explore both these crucial questions, before recognizing that our seventh and final guideline for church leaders an an AI-driven world is perhaps one of the most important: we’re called to keep an undistracted focus on the mission of the Church. This is a critical reality for a healthy journey into a future shaped by artificial intelligence.
What is the Church?
At its most basic, we might say that the Church is the gathering of believers united under the leadership and authority of Jesus Christ, who is its head (Eph. 5:22-25; Col. 1:18). Gathering is of vital importance; the word “church” is translated from ekklēsia, which literally means “assembly.”1 However, a mere assembly of like-minded people does not make the Church distinct. Mark Dever highlights the importance of the ekklēsia in The Church: The Gospel Made Visible:
The church should be regarded as important to Christians because of its importance to Christ. Christ founded the church (Matt 16:18), purchased it with his blood (Acts 20:28), and intimately identifies himself with it (Acts 9:4). The church is the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:12, 27; Eph 1:22-23; 4:12; 5:20-30; Col 1:18, 24; 3:15), the dwelling place of his Spirit (1 Cor 3:16-17; Eph 2:18,22; 4:4), and the chief instrument for glorifying God in the world (Ezek 36:22-38; Eph 3:10). Finally, the church is God’s instrument for bringing both the gospel to the nations and a great host of redeemed humanity to himself (Luke 24:36-38; Rev 5:9).2
Clearly, the Church plays a vital role in the plans and purposes of the Lord. But the Bible is also rich in metaphors describing its nature; to focus on just one (i.e., the Body of Christ) misses something of the Church’s multifaceted nature. It is also described as Christ’s bride (Eph. 5:25-27; 2 Cor. 11:2; Rev. 19:7-9; 21:1-2), highlighting Jesus's profound love for the Church and its own call to purity and holiness. The Church is a summation of the gathered branches of Jesus, the true vine (John 15:1-5). It is the collected members of God’s household, built on a foundation where Christ is the cornerstone (Eph. 2:19-20).
While most Christians are confident that Jesus is the reason for gathering, we can sometimes forget just how central he is to the Church. Jesus is the founder, the head, the husband, the vine, the cornerstone, and the redeemer of the ekklēsia, which is also his body. While it is crucial to recognize the importance of gathering, it is also important to recognize Christ's centrality in all facets of the church’s expression.
The church is sometimes referred to in various ways as visible and invisible or local and universal. Robert Letham describes the visible (or local) church as “the church here in this world, as an organism and an institution,” whereas the invisible (or universal) church “consists of the entire company of the elect in all ages (Rev. 7:4-17).3 It is invisible in the sense that it consists “not only of believers alive now but also of those who have died, those yet to profess faith, and those yet to be born.”4
Whether we’re discussing the visible or the invisible Church, its mission remains the same. But what is it?
What is the mission of the Church?
Unlike the “Impossible Mission Force,” genuine followers of Jesus don’t have the opportunity to accept or reject the Church’s mission. It’s an imperative. A command. If this is the case, it’s important to know exactly what that mission is.
It’s not as simple as we might first think; theologians throughout the ages have differed on the scope and focus of the Church’s mission for generations. The purpose of this article is not to provide an exhaustive theological treatise on the subject but rather to give a broad overview that will inform us as we navigate the world of AI.
It is also important to recognize from the start that as the body of Christ today, we can sometimes conflate the holistic mission of the Church with missions and missionaries. Missions—the specific initiatives or endeavours to spread the Gospel or provide humanitarian support, often in cross-cultural contexts—are vital and necessary. But they are one part of the Church’s overarching mission, not the whole.
To understand the mission of the Church, it is perhaps most helpful to start broadly and grow increasingly specific. In their excellent book, What is the Mission of the Church (which understably offers a much more in-depth look at the subject), Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert offer the following definition:
The mission of the church is to go into the world and make disciples by declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit and gathering these disciples into churches, that they might worship the Lord and obey his commands now and in eternity to the glory of God the Father.5
It’s a comprehensive statement and one of the best definitions of the Church’s mission that I could find. However, for reasons that will become apparent, I propose the following slightly more succinct change:
The Church is to fulfill Jesus’ Great Commission, in the Spirit’s power, and bring about the glorious worship of God the Father.
Although this statement contains only twenty-two words—half the length of DeYoung and Gilbert’s statement—there is still much to unpack. Let’s explore each of the component parts of this mission statement, starting at the end:
“. . . and bring about the glorious worship of God the Father.”
Worship is the ultimate calling of the human race. Almost 500 years ago, the Westminster Shorter Catechism was right to state that “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.” Indeed, in Desiring God, John Piper famously pressed the case for what he calls “Christian Hedonism,” arguing that “The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying him forever” (emphasis added).6 In a later work, Let the Nations Be Glad!, he reflects on the purpose of the church: “All of creation, all of redemption, all of history is designed by God to display God. That is the ultimate goal of the church.”
Piper’s focus on worship is well-founded in Scripture. 1 Corinthians 10:31 commands believers to do everything for the glory of God. Ephesians 3:21 declares, “to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” God—the one who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us—is to receive worship-fueled glory from the body of Christ. When asked what was the greatest command in the law, Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). In Revelation 7:11-12, the angels, elders, and four living creatures fall facedown before God, proclaiming:
Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honor
and power and strength
be to our God forever and ever. Amen.
If that is the response of those at the Great Tribulation, we can reasonably infer that the Lord is worthy of a similar response from those he calls his children and coheirs with Christ today (Rom. 8:16-17).
Our role as the Church is to bring about the glorious worship of God the Father in as great a measure as possible. Our objective is to bring glory to God in whatever we do. There is a personal, corporate, and evangelistic component in accomplishing this purpose. We give the Lord our worship individually by living sacrificially in view of his mercy (Rom. 12:1); we worship the Lord as a gathered body of Christ by meeting together as the ekklēsia; and we endeavour to fulfil the Great Commission with the express purpose of drawing more people toward giving the Lord the glory and honour that he rightfully deserves.
Let’s explore that last point in more detail:
“The Church is to fulfill Jesus’ Great Commission. . .”
If bringing glory, praise, and honor to the Lord is our primary objective, the Great Commission is not far behind, and part of our expression of worship to the Lord. Here’s what Jesus commands:
18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20)
Immediately, we’re reminded of the centrality of Christ to the Church’s mission; after all, he is the one with all authority. In light of Jesus’ divine prominence, we’re called to go and make disciples until such a time that all nations are filled with them. Some churches inadvertently interpret making disciples as making converts, which can sometimes give rise to a focus on seeker-sensitive gatherings.
Evangelism is vital to making disciples, but it is just one part. Discipleship begins the moment a person has made a commitment to follow Christ. D. A. Carson describes disciples as “those who hear, understand, and obey Jesus’ teaching.”7 Discipleship is more than simply believing in Jesus. It’s the process of being nurtured and led by the Holy Spirit and other believers to grow spiritually and work out our faith in the everyday of our lives. The ultimate purpose of making disciples is to help believers gain a rightful perspective of God in light of the Gospel and cultivate a desire to delight themselves in glorifying the Lord in all they do. Baptism, mentioned specifically in the Great Commission, is an important step in this process. It’s an outward expression of the heart-change that has taken place within.
The next section of the Great Commission is all too often overlooked in our contemporary age, much to the detriment of the Church: “. . . teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.”
It is true that the Church’s primary purpose is to glorify him. It is also true that its crucial but secondary purpose is to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. However, the imperative to teach disciples to observe all Christ commanded us must not be forgotten in the process. Jesus taught us that if we love him, we will keep his commands (John 14:15)—but what are they?
Here are a few:
We’ve already seen the first half of the greatest command. The second half calls believers to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:39).
We’re called to serve the poor and the needy (Matt. 25:35-40; Luke 4:16-19; 14:12-14)
We’re called to pursue peace, justice, and compassion (Matt. 5:9; Luke 10:25-37; Luke 11:42)
We’re called to forgive others (Matt. 6:12, 14; 18:21-35)
We’re called to live with humility (Matt. 18:4)
We’re called to live with faith (Matt. 17:20; John 3:16-17)
We’re called to pray (John 14:13-14)
As with most of the lists in this article, this is not exhaustive by any means, but it shows us that the Great Commission is even more than a call to make and baptize disciples in all nations. Indeed, we could extend this idea further by recognizing that since Jesus is fully God, every page of Scripture constitutes his Word and, by extension, his commands. When we live in line with biblical values and pursue righteousness for the sake of our great God, we are already working towards observing everything that Jesus has commanded us.
The next statement builds on this important truth:
“ . . . in the Spirit’s power . . .”
We must recognize that in our own strength, keeping the imperatives laid out for us through Jesus’ teaching and in the rest of the Scriptures is impossible. We are riddled with human limitations in wisdom, understanding, strength, and resources. As we saw in the previous guideline, God’s wisdom is different from human wisdom. Similarly, while we can sow and water faith seeds for the sake of the Gospel, it’s only God who brings the growth (1 Cor. 3:6-7). Were we to go it alone, we’d join the spiritual equivilent of that Impossible Mission Force. The fuse would be lit, the bassoon would start trilling…and we wouldn’t get very far. The mission would, quite literally, be impossible.
Thankfully, Jesus called us to pursue the Great Commission in the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). Since Pentecost, the Holy Spirit has filled believers, dwelling in us (Acts 2:1-4; 1 Cor. 3:16) and guiding us into all truth (John 16:13). The Gospel is proclaimed in power and in the Holy Spirit (1 Thess. 1:5), and believers can effectively engage in the great mission of God with the Spirit’s fruit (Gal. 5:22-23) and gifts (1 Cor. 12:4-11; Rom. 12:6-8; Eph. 4:11-12) to help fulfill their divinely-inspired objective.
Put simply, while the mission is great, the Spirit who empowers us is greater. In his strength, the mission is eminently possible.
The Church is to fulfill Jesus’ Great Commission, in the Spirit’s power, and bring about the glorious worship of God the Father.
The Specific Call of the Church
We have defined the broad, overarching mission of the body of Christ, which is important. But it’s also helpful to mention specific objectives that are key to fulfilling that mission. These are subservient to the overarching goal, but important nevertheless. Here are a few examples:
We are Called to Preach the Word and Administer the Sacraments.
The 16th century gave rise to the Protestant Reformation, which began a renewed focus on the Church’s mission. Article XII of the Lutheran Augsburg Confession, article XIX of the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England, and the fourth book in Calvin’s Institutes all sat in broad agreement: the Church’s focus was on preaching the Word of God and administering the sacraments (baptism and communion). Clearly, such objectives reflect the Great Commission, though the importance of communion is given a focus in these statements that, while not found in the Great Commission itself, is elevated elsewhere in Scripture (Matt. 26:26-30; Luke 22:19-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-26). To make disciples, it is crucial that the Word of God is rightly taught, and the sacraments are rightly administered.
We are Called to Sing Praises to God.
It’s unfortunate that the 21st-century evangelical church tends to view worship as synonymous only with singing. As we have already seen, worship is about bringing God glory in all that we do. But this is not to say that singing praises to the Lord is unimportant. Indeed, it is a vital component of our broader worship.
Colossians 3:16 instructs believers to “Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” Ephesians 5:19 has a similar call, directing us to speak “to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord”. 1 Corinthians 14:26 elevates the importance of bringing “a hymn, a teaching, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation” whenever believers come together. Indeed, we have reason to believe that the Magnificat—Mary’s spontaneous praise in Luke 1 after encountering the angel Gabrel and visiting Elizabeth—was a song. Paul and Silas sing in prison (Acts 16:25), and even Jesus sings a hymn after the Last Supper (Matt. 26:30).
Clearly, our sung praise and worship is a part of fulfilling the Church’s mission.
We are Called to Pray.
Prayer is not an afterthought. It is an essential imperative of the Church. In his book Letters to the Church, Francis Chan is characteristically direct on the matter:
If prayer isn’t vital for your church, then your church isn’t vital. This statement may be bold, but I believe it’s true. If you can accomplish your church’s mission without daily, passionate prayer, then your mission is insufficient and your church is irrelevant.8
Why is Chan so strong on this? Consider the following:
Jesus regularly prayed to his Father (Matt. 11:25-26; 26:36-46; 27:46; Mark 14:32-42; 15:34; Luke 6:12; 9:28-29; 22:32, 39-46; 23:34; 24:30-31, 50-33).
He taught us to do the same (Matt. 5:5-6; 6:9-13 7:7-11; 21:21-22; Luke 11:2-4).
We’re called to, “Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 5:16-18).
The Bible teaches us not to worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present our requests to God (Phil. 4:6).
1 John 5:14-15 reminds us that, “This is the confidence we have before him: if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked of him.”
Examples abound, not just in the New Testament. In Does Prayer Change Things?, R. C. Sproul explores the results of prayer in the Old Testament:
By prayer, Esau’s heart was changed towards Jacob, so that they met in a friendly, rather than hostile, manner (Gen. 32).
By the prayer of Moses, God brought the plagues upon Egpyt and then removed them again (Ex. 7-11).
By prayer, Joshua made the sun stand still (Josh. 10).
By prayer, when Samson was ready to perish with thirst, God brought water out of a hollow place for his sustenance (Judg. 15).
By prayer, the strength of Samson was restored. He pulled down the temple of Dagon on the Philistines, so that those whom he killed as he died were more than all he had killed in his life (Judg. 16).
By prayer, Elijah held back the rains for three and a half years. Then by prayer, he caused it to rain again (1 Kings 17-18).
By the prayer of Hezekiah, God sent an angel and killed in one night 185,000 men in Sennacherib’s army (2 Kings 19).
By the prayer of Asa, God confounded the army of Zerah (2 Chron. 14).9
Prayer has been—and will continue to be—pivotal to the lives of faithful men and women in pursuing the Church’s mission.
We are Called to Provide Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Care.
As believers, we are commanded to provide care for those around us, particularly fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. It starts with love:
John 13:34-35: “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (Emphasis added).
Paul emphasizes the importance of mutual care for one another within the Church (1 Cor. 12:25-26), which is perfectly exemplified in Acts 2:42-47. We see exhortations for believers to look beyond their own interests to the interests of others (Phil. 2:4), comforting them in affliction (2 Cor. 1:4), helping the weak (1 Thess. 5:14), welcoming strangers (Matt. 25:35), bearing one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2), and expressing our worship to the Lord by looking after widows and orphans in their distress (Jam. 1:27). While all believers have a responsibility to support the spiritual lives of those around them, elders particularly bear this weight (Acts 20:28; Jam. 5:14; 1 Pet. 5:1-3; 1 Tim. 3:1-7).
The Scriptures are also particularly clear on the importance of helping the poor and afflicted and pursuing justice as part of our mission. There are too many passages littered throughout the pages of the Bible, but here are a few that give us a general sense of the imperative:
Proverbs 29:7 - “The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.”
Isaiah 58:10 - “and if you offer yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted one, then your light will shine in the darkness, and your night will be like noonday.”
Matthew 25:40 - “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”
James. 2:15-16 - “If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,’ but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it?”
Micah 6:8 - “Mankind, he has told each of you what is good and what it is the LORD requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.”
It’s beyond the scope of this article to provide a full survey of justice and poverty, but it should be clear that it’s a biblical command to support those in need. However, it is also important to stress that while serving the poor and afflicted and standing for justice is an essential objective within our mission, it is ultimately subservient to the mission itself.
The term “social justice” has garnered significant controversy in recent years, primarily because proponents of what is an inherently biblical idea have elevated the concept beyond its rightful place in the Church’s mission, giving rise to unbiblical frameworks like liberation theology, radical feminism, and critical race theory. On the other hand, more conservative-leaning believers are sometimes guilty of throwing the baby out with the bathwater in response to the unhealthy elevation of justice issues and consequently reject what is clearly a biblical imperative as a result. There is a tension here that can be managed when our priorities are correct.
The Church is to fulfill Jesus’ Great Commission, in the Spirit’s power, and bring about the glorious worship of God the Father. A part of fulfilling this mission is to serve the poor, the widow, and the afflicted. A part of fulfilling this mission is to promote justice issues. But this is not an end in and of itself; we pursue these things to fulfill the Great Commission and bring God the glory he deserves.
Thus far, we’ve seen that the Church is the gathering of believers united under the leadership and authority of Jesus Christ, playing a vital role in God's plans and purposes. Its mission is to fulfill Jesus’ Great Commission, the Spirit’s power, and bring about the glorious worship of God the Father. In pursuit of this mission, the Church must preach the Gospel, administer the sacraments, sing praises and lift up prayers to the Lord, and provide physical, emotional, and spiritual care.
With these crucial foundations in place, we must now consider them in light of the shifting sands of artificial intelligence.
Staying Focused on the Mission in an AI-driven World
In the previous articles, we’ve explored some of the enormous changes that are likely to occur in a landscape increasingly shaped by AI. It really is, in the words of Jacob Stern, an “everything issue.”10 As we’ve seen artificial intelligence is already impacting our relationships, our economies, our cultures, our approach to and understanding of knowledge, and the realities of warfare. Increasingly, we are starting to see the spiritual impact of AI as it permeates the invisible walls of the Church and gives rise to growing idolatry and dangerous ideologies like transhumanism.
We’ve recognized a call to be technological semi-Luddites, where we embrace the positive aspects of AI technology but aggressively reject any areas that detract from biblical truth and practice.
There is clearly much to ponder as the Church navigates this novel territory. As the influence and impact of AI becomes increasingly obvious, it’s possible that our congregations grow in fear, panic, frustration, and even anger at the changes taking place. It’s a natural response to large societal shifts and one we saw at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2021.
This could be problematic.
As a pastor, my primary concern with the pandemic was not the prolonged debates over the efficacy of vaccines and masks or “stopping the spread” or whether the government was acting appropriately or not. Those were all relevant and important discussions and had their place. Rather, what worried me was just how quickly large portions of the body of Christ allowed these fears or frustrations to take centre stage over and above the primarily mission that we have discussed in this article.
While the cultural landscape shifts in the next decade or two as it adjusts to the proliferation of artificial intelligence, it is crucial that we keep undistracted focus on the mission of the Church. Here’s why:
However influential artificial intelligence becomes in our society, it will not impact the Church’s role as the gathered body of believers united under the leadership and authority of Jesus Christ. As Christ’s bride, body, and the dwelling place of his Spirit, it will always play a vital role in God’s plans and purposes.
However prominent artificial intelligence is in our world, it will have absolutely no impact on our call to fulfill Jesus’ Great Commission, in the Spirit’s power, and to bring about the glorious worship of God the Father. Certainly, AI may change how we execute the mission, but it will never change the core of the mission itself.
However prominent artificial intelligence is in our world, it will never change the command that the Church preach the Gospel, administer the sacraments, sing praises and lift up prayers to the Lord, and provide physical, emotional, and spiritual care. Again, AI may change how we achieve some of those objectives, but these God-given imperatives are ultimately immutable.
In great detail, Romans 9 reminds believers that there is only one throne over all, and it belongs to the Lord of all Creations. The Lord’s decree will prevail (Prov. 19:21), and He works everything out in agreement with the purpose of His will (Eph. 1:11).
Because believers serve a sovereign King, there can be no truly existential threat that would thwart God’s will.
If you’re a churh leader, part of your role during these coming changes is to remind believers that Jesus will one day return (Acts 1:11; 1 Thess. 4:16-17; Rev. 1:7), and He will return to an existent and waiting humanity. With every potentially catastrophic issue (e.g., artificial intelligence, nuclear threats, climate change), believers must remember this critical and comforting truth.
Jesus will not return to an empty, barren wasteland with great fanfare and suddenly realize that humans annihilated themselves before He arrived.
God will not reach the consummation of his plans and utter the words, “oops. I probably should have done this sooner."
On the other hand, there is no room for complacency. If we believe the Word of God to be infallible and true—and I do—the world will not be destroyed before Jesus returns, but that does not mean it is immune from devastating and irreparable damage and destruction. For this reason, we must act on our call to function well as God’s stewards on the earth.
Make no mistake. We are living in unprecedented times. There is much reason to be concerned. But there is far greater reason to place our trust and faith in the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, who is worthy of our honor and glory forever and ever (1 Tim. 1:17).
Our mission as the Church is unchanging, and with God, it is anything but impossible.
Whatever awaits us in a future shaped by AI, our focus on that mission must be unchanging, too.
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Wayne A Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2020), 1506.
Mark Dever, The Church: The Gospel Made Visible, Digital Edition, v.1. (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2012), 11-12.
Robert Letham, Systematic Theology (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2019), 793.
Ibid.
Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert, What Is the Mission of the Church? (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011), 62.
John Piper, Desiring God, Revised Edition. (New York, NY: Multnomah Books, 2011), 18.
D A Carson, Matthew (Expositor’s Bible Commentary) (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984), 596.
Francis Chan, Letters to the Church (Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 2018), Kindle loc. 637 of 2302.
R C Sproul, Does Prayer Change Things? (Lake Mary, FL: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2009), 76-77.
Jacob Stern, “Where’s the AI Culture War?,” The Atlantic, last modified April 9, 2023, accessed May 19, 2023, https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/04/generative-ai-tech-elon-musk-chatgpt-politics-biden/673673/.