Faithful and Wise in the World of AI

by

Local Church

United Methodist Church of the Resurrection | Aug. 5, 20205

“It’s against my programming to impersonate a deity.”

C-3PO, Return of the Jedi

When the beloved Star Wars character said that, it was a punchline. Now it sounds like a boundary we need to take seriously! Since AI can compose devotionals, create sermon graphics, and even generate worship music, we’re faced with an urgent theological question: how do we tell the difference between spiritual language and spiritual life? The Church must speak clearly about what it means to be human, to minister, and to live in covenantal relationship with God in a world of AI.

At Resurrection, we’ve been exploring how to use these new tools well. Here are three insights I often share with ministry teams:

Think of AIs as interns – brilliant, fast, but not fully formed.

AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude are excellent writing assistants. I use ChatGPT for idea development, Claude for drafting, and Gemini for fact-checking and critique. They can amplify, sharpen, and accelerate everything from writing newsletter articles to preparing Bible studies to sermon research. But they don’t know your congregation. You are the theologian, the pastor, the discerner of what is beneficial. Use AI to speed up the routine so you can slow down for what really matters: people, prayer, presence.

Every tool is a weapon if you hold it right.

AI is an omni-use tool. Like fire, language, or the internet, it can illuminate, or it can destroy. Used wisely, it supports ministry, helping us teach, organize, communicate, and reach new people. Used carelessly, it can twist truth, injure integrity, and fracture fellowship. The danger isn’t in the tool itself, but in how we wield it. As Ani DiFranco said, “Every tool is a weapon if you hold it right.” Theologically, that means AI will reflect the heart of the one who uses it. Which is why character formation will always matter more than tech fluency.

Help your church ask the right questions.

The deeper issue isn’t what AI can do, but what it might displace. If AI becomes our first stop for relationship advice, theological answers, or emotional comfort, what happens to the Church’s role in shaping meaning, morality, and community? We must teach people not just how to use AI, but how to think theologically about what it means to be human. What makes us human isn’t intelligence, or even consciousness, it’s being called and known by God. That’s something no AI can replicate.

The church is called to live faithfully into whatever future we find ourselves in. So, let’s be wise. Let’s steward these tools, not with fear or ignorance, but with discernment and care. Ours is not to resist the future, but to inhabit it differently and well, as the Holy Spirit leads.

Clif Guy serves as Resurrection’s Lead Director of Information Technology. He is leading AI adoption at Resurrection, helping the church stay current technologically while remaining grounded theologically. He is the author of a theological framework called Covenantal Ontology: Exploring Human Uniqueness in a World of AI.