The Church and Technology: Artificial Intelligence

In a recent call with a clergy group, I shared a survey from Exponential NEXT which found that 93.5% of church leaders used or explored using AI in 2025; 78% used it daily or weekly. One of the participants pointed out that if one uses the Internet, you are using AI whether you want to or not! It is probably true that everyone uses AI unintentionally! The finding of the survey, however, was that AI was intentionally used by most clergy leaders in the US.

While AI can assist with sermon research, administrative drafting, and data applications, where do we draw the line to ensure that our teaching remains "God-breathed" and born of human experience, rather than just being an optimized synthesis of existing data? How do we safeguard the integrity of inspiration in our use of AI? How do we continue to nurture the human connection?

Here are some tension points church leaders are currently navigating with AI:

Authenticity. The risk is that congregants may lose trust if they feel a sermon or prayer was "manufactured" by a machine. The opportunity is that AI can handle the "heavy lifting" of research, giving leaders more time for face-to-face ministry.

I asked Google Gemini to write a sermon based on Matthew 25:31-46 with this format: three points with exegesis of the text, an illustration, and an application for each point. It was rather short, but the points selected provided insight into the text. I would never use the illustrations because I cannot imagine that they would connect with the life experience of the people where I would have an opportunity to preach. I also thought I could improve on the application. Now, maybe I didn’t ask the right questions or provide an adequate context, but this sermon was clearly not me and had not been informed by who I am as a minister of the Gospel.

Spiritual Growth. The risk is that reliance on AI for answers can lead to "cognitive atrophy," where we stop wrestling with scripture ourselves. The opportunity is that AI can create personalized Bible study plans or translate resources into multiple languages instantly.

I think there are possibilities here for AI as a learning tool. Online spiritual formation platforms such as Hallow, Ritual, BibleChat, and Examen already offer a programmed learning approach with scripture, videos, and questions for understanding and application. In the right hands, such platforms might become more interactive and attuned to user.

Relational Depth. The risk here is that AI can mimic empathy, potentially replacing the messy but necessary connection of a real faith community. The opportunity is that automated follow-up tools can ensure no first-time guest "falls through the cracks" due to human oversight.

By its very nature, human community—including the church—is messy. Much of the New Testament is devoted to guidance about living in community, confronting bad behavior, and living together in the Spirit of God. If God chose to be represented in human form, there is value in the human component of community.

There have been churches who rejected indoor plumbing, amplified sound systems, movie projectors and other innovations. However, I think most of us have found that indoor plumbing, air conditioning, quality audio visual equipment, copy machines, and telephones have made great contributions to our efforts to reach our communities for Christ.

Here are some questions to ask as you bring AI (or any innovation) to your church:

How have your people responded to change in the past?

Are you ready to be transparent about how you use the technology?

How will this help your ministry within your context?

Will the investment in such technology further your church’s overall mission?

Comments

Check these out

Confessions of a Recovering Southern Baptist

I am grateful for my heritage as a Southern Baptist. I was exposed to the Bible and worship from a very young age. I grew up in a church in south Alabama that supported the Cooperative Program of missions giving. This meant that our church had the benefit of being part of a supportive group of local churches and the educational opportunities that afforded. Our state convention provided varied and effective ministries with groups like orphans, ethnic groups, and college students. We supported missionaries at home and abroad. We had good Bible study and training literature (which we paid for, of course). I went to an accredited seminary and paid a remarkably low tuition. Wherever you went on a Sunday morning (in the Southeast and Southwest, at least), you could find a church that sang the familiar hymns and studied the same Bible lesson. In hindsight, I realize that this Southern Baptist utopia was imperfect. There were significant...

The Tragedy of Willow Creek Community Church

File photo of Steve Carter, Heather Larson, and Bill Hybels As Christian brothers and sisters, we need to pray for Willow Creek Community Church. On the eve of the Global Leadership Summit, a worldwide conference sponsored by the church in cooperation with the Willow Creek Association, church leadership imploded as a result of further allegations against former pastor Bill Hybels. Last year, Hybels introduced the team who would assume church leadership upon his retirement--lead pastor Heather Larson and teaching pastor Steve Carter. Although the founding pastor planned to stay on to assist in a time of transition, reports of sexual impropriety involving Hybels surfaced early this year. He accelerated his departure from the church and left the board of the Willow Creek Association. When other charges emerged last week, teaching pastor Carter resigned. On Wednesday evening, Larson and the entire elder board--lay leaders who provide accountability ...

Metaphors of the Kingdom of God

In a recent blog , consultant Seth Godin addresses the power of metaphor. He points out, “The best way to learn a complex idea is to find it living inside something else you already understand.” In other words, “this” is like “that.” “When you see a story, an example, a wonderment,” says Godin, “take a moment to look for the metaphor inside.” Jesus turned this around. In the use of parables, he told a story or provided a metaphor and challenged his hearers to see the truth within. For example, in his teaching on the Kingdom (or Reign) of God in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus compares the Kingdom to such things as a mustard seed, yeast, a hidden treasure, a net, a king, and a landowner. His hearers are encouraged to use their imaginations to understand something that they had never experienced. He also attempted to shift their perspective so that they might see signs of the Kingdom breaking into their present reality. These are metapho...

The Bible Tells Me So

As I read the story of the Good Samaritan during my devotional today, I was reminded of the times that I have heard the story in the Christian education setting of the local church--as a youngster in primary and intermediate classes (old terminology), as a young adult in college classes, and then as an adult, often teaching the passage myself. The characters and story line are very familiar due to these experiences of Christian education. These are challenging times for Christian education in the church. Like so much of what is happening in the church today, the old forms do not seem to support present needs. What once worked no longer seems to be effective. Christian education or the formation of believers is in a state of flux. In an article on ethicsdaily.com , retired professor Colin Harris addresses this issue. He points out that the period of the 60’s and 70’s “saw the beginnings of a loss of vitality within the educa...

A Future for the Global Leadership Summit?

Craig Groeschel, the founder and senior pastor of Life.Church. The Global Leadership Summit which began as a project of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, and its founding pastor, Bill Hybels, over 25 years ago was held this week without Hybels. For several years, the GLS has been now produced by the Willow Creek Association, a spin-off organization and a loose network of churches but Hybels has been its driving force. Attended by thousands at the church facility in South Barrington and broadcast to thousands more at satellite locations, the annual meeting brings together not only evangelical leaders but outstanding speakers from business, charitable organizations, politics, and business. For the first time, Hybels did not appear due to allegations of sexual impropriety brought against him over the past year by former employees, staff members, and business associates. He has already left the church and resigned from the board of t...

Barnabas File

Search This Blog