At our elders meeting a few weeks ago, we had a discussion about how AI is shaping the world around us and being incorporated into our lives and work. We are all asking questions about what this means, but some people have had some more specific questions about how we will (or won’t) use AI as a church. We thought it would be helpful to start more broadly and then work toward a statement on what this will look like at Communion Church.
The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission recently put out a document called ‘The Work of our Hands”, which is a worldview statement addressing AI. It is not meant to answer every question, but to set the groundwork for any future conversations about AI; what we should all be able to agree on. This is the starting point to make decisions with. I am going to use their six points, with some personal commentary, to build toward our shared convictions on the use of AI in the church.
God, as our sovereign Creator, is the ultimate source of all truth, goodness, and beauty.
Scriptural References: Genesis 1:1; Psalm 24:1; 104; 119:160; Isaiah 45:12, 18; John 1:3; Romans 1:19-20; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 11:3; Revelation 4:11
We believe not only that God created, but that everything that He made was very good. While sin has twisted this good creation, allowing bad things to exist, the Bible reminds us:
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change (James 1:17).
Any conclusion that we make about what is good should come from reflecting on Him and His created order.
AI must be measured against what God says is good, not just what is fast or impressive.
God made humanity in his very image, setting us apart from the rest of creation.
Scriptural References: Genesis 1:26-28; 2:7,15; 5:2; 9:6; Psalm 8:4-8; Isaiah 43:7
The clearest picture of God’s glory and beauty was revealed in the creation of human beings. People were not just one more thing that God made, but a unique creation that He gave special value to. This value is not based on performance or functionality, but on Him choosing to set us apart. We must value human beings by creating a humane world to live in.
AI can not replace human beings and we must be cautious about the ways that it makes the world a less humane place to live.
God has given us a distinct calling as human beings to cultivate and steward all of his creation for his glory and the good of our neighbors.
Scriptural References: Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15; Matthew 22:37-39; Mark 12:29-31; Luke 10:27; 1 Peter 4:10
With this value comes responsibility. God gives human beings the cultural mandate to fill the earth and subdue it, which is a charge to make and create with the aim of bringing this world into greater alignment with the Creator. Before the Fall, this cultivation was naturally good, but now that sin exists, we must be aware that every human creation comes with both positives and negatives. Our job as stewards is to both make and use these creations in a way that brings glory to God and good to His creation.
AI is a tool to help us fill the earth and subdue it; we must use it to bring healthy order not be subdued by it.
As image bearers of God, we are designed for and called into a rich, authentic community with God and others.
Scriptural References: Genesis 2:18; Romans 12:10; 1 Corinthians 12:25-27; Philippians 2:3-5; Hebrews 10:24-25; 1 John 1:3; 4:16; Revelation 3:20
This good is defined, not in individual terms, but in communal ones. Human beings were made to reflect the image of a Triune God, who dwells together in perfect unity. Flourishing is measured in a perfect balance of relationships (shalom) not in material benefits. If a technology gives to us as a consumer but breaks down community, we should see it as working against God’s design for humanity.
AI should only be used in ways that build up our relationship with God and others.
AI is not a neutral tool as it subtly, yet distinctly, shapes our understanding of God, ourselves as human beings, and the world around us.
Scriptural References: John 15:8; Romans 12:1-2; Galatians 5:16-26; Philippians 4:8; 1 Timothy 6:11; 1 Peter 1:14-15; 2 Peter 1:5-7
Technology is not just tools we use, but what shapes our understanding of the world. As I wrote in a previous post, Tech is not Neutral:
We do have a responsibility to not simply walk blindly through the world, picking up things that may hinder our ability to live out the gospel. We need to be aware of how these things affect us.
How do we know what to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to? We can’t simply measure it by outcomes, we must also consider what it is doing to us as worshippers. As Mike Cosper points out in his article, Is Technology Neutral?:
This isn’t to say that the moment you pick up an iPhone or an assault rifle that you’re immediately defiled—-that’s legalism. Instead, it’s merely to point out that these objects influence us profoundly because they open possibilities and make easier a whole world of action that was previously unavailable or much more difficult. In the case of the iPhone, the result is that we step into a way of living and relating that is more disruptive, more flooded with information, and ultimately more dependent upon that particular piece of technology.
We must be aware of how these creations affect us and ask the question: is this good?
AI will change how we understand ourselves and God, we must be willing to set up boundaries to keep ourselves from being pulled away from who God created us to be.
Discipleship and spiritual growth are not simply about transferring information, but transformation of the whole-person.
Scriptural References: Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26; Jeremiah 31:33; Matthew 28:19-20; Luke 9:23; John 13:34-35; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; 2 Corinthians 1:12; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:22-24; Philippians 1:9-11; Colossians 1:9-10; 3:9-10
An industrialized perspective of the human person reduces us down to physical needs and information. The solutions to most problems become more money and better education. When the Bible describes discipleship, it does not speak in terms of solving immediate problems, but the long, slow process of sanctification.
The ends that Christians aim for are different, because our lives are about becoming more like Christ, not doing enough to earn merit.
Likewise, God is not primarily concerned with what we produce, but in who we become. The reason why He has left His people here is so that we are sanctified in truth, not because He needs us to get something accomplished. I made this point in a blog post from years ago called Process vs. Product. In it, I pointed out some of the ways in which aiming at product prevents us from the growth God intends for us:
To replace the artist with a good picture, minimizes what an artist is doing. To have ChatGPT write your college paper robs you of the learning that you are paying the college for. To produce a sermon via AI, cuts the work of the Holy Spirit on the heart of the pastor from the process. In all of these instances, the work of formation is sacrificed in order to get an easier (and potentially better) product.
AI cannot replicate the very human work of discipleship and it can possibly get in the way of it.
All of this leads us to some very difficult questions about the use of AI in our everyday lives. There is no question that it has the capability to do things that we could not do before, but we must be honest about what we are losing in the process. Even more, from the perspective of the church, whether or not we are actually sabotaging the work that we have been called to do and become.
This brings us to the question of AI and the church. One of the greatest statements of the purpose of the church comes from Ephesians 4:12–16, where Paul writes that God has given us the preachers and teachers:
to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
This describes a process in which the leaders are equipping people, keeping them in unity, maturing them, so that they are built up into a loving community (body). This isn’t just work that is being done. God is the force driving all of this growth and connection. This is the Father’s plan, through the power of the Spirit, toward the fullness of Christ. God defines what the goal is, how it comes about, and is the one who gets the glory.
We see in Ephesians 4, that God chooses to use people leading people through the difficult work of maturing, not because it is the most effective way to do things, but because it is the way that will allow His glory to be seen. For this reason, the pastors of Communion Church believe that minimizing the distractions of technology are an important part of keeping us focused on God in this technologically oversaturated time. What does this mean for how we use AI in the church?
1. Our sermons will never be written by AI.
While AI can summarize information, what it cannot do is interact with the Spirit of God. It cannot be convicted of sin or challenged by the text. The process of writing a sermon is allowing God to speak through a pastor to a specific people. AI interferes with this process.
2. Our written content will not be done by AI.
While some of our blogs and statements could be aided by the use of AI, the work of putting them together is sanctifying for the writer. It is also important for the reader to know that what they are reading is coming from someone they know (and hopefully trust).
3. Our correspondence (emails, texts, letters) will not be done by AI.
Any time there is a message from the leadership of the church, it will be written by that person. The people of the church are not a problem to be managed, or a recipient to be communicated with. These are people to be loved and cared for. While AI can pass information along, it cannot laugh with those who laugh or weep with those who weep. We don’t want the church to wonder whose voice they are hearing.
4. Our graphics will not be made with the use of AI.
There is an ethical argument about how AI does not compensate or acknowledge the artists that it ‘learns’ from, but as a church that believes that God has made us to be creative, we don’t want to outsource the joy of making. The joy that comes from the artistic elements of the church helps us to appreciate the parts of the body that God has gifted to make.
5. We will not use AI in any place where personal information may be compromised.
AI is great at sorting data, which includes names, addresses, notes from counseling, facial recognition, and prayer requests. There are numerous ways we could implement AI that would simplify processes, but would also entrust personal information to a ‘thinking’ machine. At this point, we do not feel that the safeguards are there and that the best way to steward what is entrusted to us is to keep it from AI.
This may seem like overkill to some. As Christians, we don’t have to buy into the myth of inevitability. We don’t have to get on board with something that is not ultimately good for us. As the church, we are a place of rest in the midst of a broken world. While we are still sinners, struggling with the weight of brokenness, we can operate by completely different values than what our culture has taken on. While we are still far from it, the church community should strive to be the closest thing to heaven that we experience. I believe we will have some technology in heaven, but I do not think it will be AI.
When you come to church, we want it to be human; from the people reading, playing instruments, singing, preaching, to those advancing the slides and filling up the communion cups. We believe this is important, because the body of Christ, with each part playing its role, and the unity and gratitude that it builds, is the purpose for coming together every week. As society becomes more inhumane, the solace of the church is going to be even more important. As people look for a place of rest apart from the constant barrage of AI, our church will feel like peace.