Written by Jonathan Sams, who works in the tech sector and serves as an elder at Image Church in Marietta, Georgia.
As pastors, we’re responsible to teach our people what is true and what is false. When the internet accelerated the flow of information, it also accelerated this need for pastoral discernment. That’s one reason much of the conversation around artificial intelligence (AI) focuses on misinformation. But I believe that’s insufficient.
If we simply see AI as another technological step forward in information distribution, we’ll face a massive discipleship problem. That’s because the greatest danger AI poses to our people isn’t the information it relays but the way it shapes us. As I wrote recently for TGC, the problem isn’t misinformation but mis-formation.
AI does much more than provide information. It shapes habits, expectations, and attitudes. I see this among both the young professionals at my church and the coworkers and clients I engage with in the tech industry. You might think AI is just a trend that will fade over time or just the evolution of the internet. I believe it’d be a tragedy to think that way.
The church—your local church—can’t ignore how AI is forming your people. You mustn’t merely ask what AI can produce but what kind of people we become when we rely on it. Are we more present, discerning, dependent on God, and attentive to others? Or are we unthinkingly outsourcing difficulties God uses to form us simply because this new technology promises frictionless work?
As pastors, we’re on the front lines during this technological change. We must encourage our people to read Scripture, pray, seek godly counsel (from other humans), and learn AI’s limits and proper use cases. My prayer is that we shepherd the flock well through this tech evolution (1 Pet. 5:2–4), and I pray that my article provides some help along the way.
—Jonathan
