A.I. and the Church

“What is AI doing to the people in our pews?”

Those were the words of author, scholar, and pastor Kenny Jhang at a recent Houston Church Planting Network meeting. You can watch the conversation HERE.

Throughout the conversation Jhang referenced multiple artificial intelligence tools and resources and their impact on multiple facets of the church today. He had some very interesting perspectives on the history, use, and future of technology and how the church has responded in the past and what we should consider changing in the present and future. Jhang is clearly a proponent of leveraging available technologies to help the church minister in the current climate and culture. In his opinion, AI is “multiplier” for ministry, by increasing the presence of a leader or influencer through technological means. 

Unlike radio, television, or online videos which only increase the reach of the message, AI actually allows an individual to interact and engage with an avatar-a digitally manipulated image or video- in real time. For example, instead of just posting Sunday’s sermon online, a pastor could also create an AI avatar of himself that can engage and answer questions in real-time to anyone who might be looking for answers. With the click of a link, a person seeking information launches an interactive video of the pastor who speaks, greets, and answers questions in a manner that is so real and lifelike, that after a few minutes, you might not realize that is not really the pastor but instead a very convincing AI generated video that responds to your questions. 

Now, before you light the torches and sharpen the pitchforks, you should consider that regardless of how you feel about these type of interactions and whether you will or will not participate in such…the reality is - YOU ALREADY ARE and you probably do not know it. When was the last time you called a helpline or the bank, especially one of those big ones, and had to speak or punch in account codes, only to get a robotic update about your account balance (which is why you are calling anyway, to talk to SOMEONE about an issue, right?).

While, it might be difficult to agree with everything the Jhang and others have to offer regarding AI and the other digital church tools, one thing is for certain, the church needs to know how these technologies are impacting their congregants and those who are already engaged with such technology in their everyday life. Perhaps it is worth asking, “Is this a tool that can help us reach and minister to those who need to know Jesus or not?” 

In an attempt to answer that question by researching this topic and looking through various groups that are currently using AI in their ministry, one recurring theme kept popping up- what is the real issue here, the MEDIUM or the MESSAGE? 

To their credit, most evangelical proponents of AI were very clear about the importance of staying on message and making certain that the gospel is clear and concise just as the Scripture declares it. But its the medium, especially its end goal and the speed by which it is evolving creates some tension with those who are less technologically savvy and/or more suspicious about the use and dependence upon technology to advance the gospel. 

Here are some examples of the concerns that some have raised. By using a Google search for “AI and Christian Ethics”, (fyi…google searches rely heavily upon AI to provide you with multiple pages of related links to your queries) The Gospel Coalition Australia Edition posted a blog from 12/5/2023 that highlighted 12 things they discovered about AI. Of the 12 points highlighted, Point #4 which reads,

“AI Is not Ethically Neutral, but Is Furnished with the Ethics of Its Designers”

Was especially interesting.This point appears to be akin to the old adage “Garbage In. Garbage Out.” Essentially, AI is a program and it is fed information by someone and it operates according to a set of rules that were developed by someone. That someone may have a particular bias or might be knowingly or unknowingly gathering information from a biased source. Whatever the case may be, essentially AI is working within a finite realm of information…for now.  Hopefully, the rules and the data points are in alignment with a Biblical Worldview, which most Christian proponents of AI strongly advocate is of great importance for ministry in a digital age. 

Another hit from this search returned an article written by Christianity Today in October 2023 (please note in AI terms,  a two year old article is like aging someone in dog years because the technology is updating and upgrading very quickly.) Kate Lucky wrote an article entitled “AI Will Shape Your Soul.” Lucky wrote, 

“Our future with an advancing AI has implications not only for our relationships with artificial intelligence but also for our relationships with each other.”

Lucky went on to write about the importance of human interactions and the necessity of relationships. She is watching society change through continual interactions with machines and the impact that is having on how we see and treat people. In her article she interviewed an expert in this field who stated, 

“How we treat machines becomes how we treat other people,” says Gretchen Huizinga, a podcast host at Microsoft Research and research fellow with AI and Faith, an interreligious organization seeking to bring “ancient wisdom” to debates about artificial intelligence.

Huizinga went on to say, 

"The appeal of relying on AI to answer our questions—instead of a summer intern, a post office employee, or a pastor—is obvious: “We don’t have to deal with messy, stinky, unpleasant, annoying people,” Huizinga says. But for Christians, “God calls us to get into the mess.”

Ms. Huizinga has a point worth considering. After all, isn’t the sinful messiness of humanity exactly why the incarnate Christ dwelt among us? He came to us because it was not possible for us to come to him without the cost of redemption being paid in full through his sacrifice. 

But does that mean that there is no place for AI in ministry? 

At the moment, this is hotly debated. Most pastors use the internet on some level for research and inspiration when preparing a sermon. The extent of that usage varies, but it is safe to say that on some level there is a technological aid used in preparing for Sunday morning services in most churches. But where do pastors draw the line? 

Remember Microsoft Word’s spell check feature when it first come out in 1985? Probably not, because most people did not have personal computers or word processors readily available. But could you imagine not having spell check now? What about autocorrect? How annoying was that when it first came out? Now, it just changes the word for you and you keep thumbing out a message in lightening speed. 

For pastors that still manuscript their messages, spell check is likely second nature to your process. But with the fast moving digital technology of today, would you let AI write a sermon for you? Would you let AI “edit” a sermon for you? Remember our avatar example from earlier? What if AI could produce and deliver a sermon - maybe even a better one than you could produce- and you just put that video out on Facebook each week? Would you do it if it meant someone would come to faith in Christ? Does the medium matter if the message is accurate? 

Some church leaders are already contemplating this questions. A recent article in Axios titled, “Meet Chatbot Jesus: How Philly-area churches tap AI to save souls,” explored these and other questions. Their opinion was that the church should consider how to cautiously utilize AI and to be careful not to outsource the most important aspects of ministry to technology, that being human interaction. Daniel Russel of St. mark’s Church said, 

"That's why the church will end up being one of the last places where connection trumps convenience.”

Hopefully, Russel is right. But like most technological advances, the convenience of new, better, and faster methods to do anything is often to tempting to pass up.

AI is not going anywhere. So we need to at least understand how it is effecting the people in the pews. People like Kenny Jhang are on the forefront of understanding these technologies and their applications. They have done far more research than the average person and although their opinions might not always be what we might want to hear, we should be thankful for though leaders that encourage us to explore the realities of our times and culture. Likewise, Jhang and others have cautioned the church to not only learn more about AI but to make adjustments to AI’s impact on the church. For example, does your church have an AI policy? 

On a personal note, this article has been extremely challenging to write. First of all, the technology seems incredibly complex. Secondly, the moral, ethical, and social implications of AI in ministry are daunting, not to mention the speed that this technology is moving and changing. Thirdly, mainstream usage of AI has further accentuated the gap between truth and relevancy, thus making AI a powerful tool on one hand, but a albatross of convenience on the other. Finally, discussions like those with Kenny Jhang, articles like Axios, and other resources have really opened my eyes to how fast our culture and society are moving and even though I dont fully understand all of this, and probably never will, I know that more conversation and study is necessary and important. And I hope to have more of these conversations I the future.