The ethics and practice of AI in Christian ministry (shortened)

AI has now advanced to the point where it can see, hear, speak, read and write.

There are multiple examples on YouTube where someone points their phone camera around the room and says, ‘Help me find my glasses.’  Or they open the fridge and say, ‘Here’s what I have, what can I cook for dinner? … in 15 minutes? … in an Italian style?’  etc.

At the same time there are the scare stories. It’s never been easier for someone to cheat on homework or create viral misinformation. This is immensely powerful technology which – like all tech – can be used for good or for ill. But, for Christian ministry, are there specific areas of AI to embrace or avoid? Are there pitfalls to watch out for?

Let’s look at some of the tools that are out there and try to draw some conclusions.

Sample AI tools for Christian Ministry

Sermon generation

See Tim Bull’s article on this. Yes, AI can produce impactful, theologically robust sermons, but AI’s lack of human experience, coupled with no knowledge of the local congregation, means it lacks the prophetic imagination and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

You could end up with a “fast-food” version of ministry, lacking the Holy Spirit and genuine human experience.

Sermon Support/small group support

There are numerous AI tools that can “repurpose” a human sermon.

Recently, I wrote a sermon based on Genesis 39, where Joseph the dreamer is in Potiphar’s house. My sermon was about the injustice of Joseph’s situation and his imprisonment. As an analogy, I compared it to the recent injustices perpetrated against UK postmasters and their imprisonment.

So, I gave an AI tool the link to the YouTube video of our church service, and it created a chatbot based on that sermon (in about five minutes). I then engaged the bot in conversation, asking it to summarise the sermon, give me opinions on the sermon, produce small-group discussion questions, etc. It did this, even going outside of Genesis 39 when I asked about events in earlier chapters. It answered most of my questions to a reasonable, even a high standard.

However, it did fall into error. At one point the bot introduced me to the famous ‘Paul of Ennells’ – apparently an accomplished Christian leader involved with the postmasters and who featured in my sermon (you mean you haven’ t heard of him?). It took some time, and several questions, for the bot to realise there’s no such person. My sermon had referred to ‘Paula Vennells’. Very obvious to us, but for AI, despite its lightning ability and frightening creativity, blatant mistakes are not uncommon.[1]

Church communications

See full article

Church workflows

See full article

Youth ministry

See full article

Theology resource bots

Here lies a real danger.

I have seen an increasing number of AI bot/websites out there with attractive names implying Bible-knowledge, Christian-theology etc. While some of these are from respected sources – such as the Catholic church’ s Magesterium AI, most are popping up out of nowhere.

I have engaged several of these theology bots, asking them questions and searching their data with mixed results. But my huge concern is that you cannot trace the people behind them. When I ask the bots, ‘Who made you?’ they reply with nebulous statements like ‘A really generous group of Christians who want to help.’

Sorry! That could mean anything. It’s like someone saying ‘Here’s an amazing book of Christian theology. There’s no named author and no publisher, but don’t worry about it!’[2]

Valuing AI alongside human endeavour

Let’s draw some conclusions and end with a few practical tips.

Three conclusions about AI and ministry

First, remember AI is like a sponge. It will soak up whatever values and ’truths’ it can find from whatever data it can find. This includes data that may be biased against Christianity, or just wrong.

Second, all of these tools have plusses and minuses. You could end up with a great asset for ministry, or you could end up with a “fast-food” version of ministry, lacking the Holy Spirit and genuine human experience.

Third, there is a balance. God can use any resource we submit to him, and we can use AI to save valuable time, like we use online commentaries and resources. But equally, sometimes it is in the wrestling with the task that God is evident. It may be in the struggle to create something that God shapes the message and simultaneously forms us for our ministry.

AI is like a sponge. It will soak up whatever values and ’truths’ it can find from whatever data it can find

How do we use AI well?

  1. Use AI as a critic, not a creator:
    Leverage AI to refine your work rather than AI generating your work from scratch. For example, try typing ‘Here’s an article/sermon I wrote. Please criticise it from the perspective of (say) N T Wright or (say) Richard Dawkins.’
    But don’t type, ‘Write this sermon for me.’
  2. Use AI as a research tool, not a decision-maker:
    AI is helpful for information gathering, summarising websites, books etc (watch out for errors).
    But make your decisions based on human judgment: maintain your oversight.
  3. Use AI as a collaborator, not the oracle:
    A good AI tool will learn your likes and dislikes, make suggestions, offer brainstorming ideas etc. All great as long as you remain the expert. If you use AI in areas where you have no expertise, it will look like magic (it’s amazing), but it will undermine you by limiting your growth, and introducing mistakes you wont notice. Using AI well means learning to ask great questions and scrutinising the answers.

The church has always adapted to new technology – albeit often reluctantly – and we will do so again. AI will bring new opportunities for sharing the gospel, it is already driving a resurgence in spirituality, and it may even help us become more human. But, like any powerful tool, we must not become a slave to it. AI can enhance our ministry, it can’t replace human empathy and spiritual insight.

This article is a shortened version. The original was commissioned by Preach Magazine and will be available to read in full in their September 2024 edition, which focuses on Artificial Intelligence. Click here for details of Preach Magazine. Once the magazine is published this post will be updated to include the full content.

[1] Tools used: pastors.ai, sermonshots.com, pulpitai.com

[2] Application names not included

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