How I Use A.I.

Technology is a tool, and it can be used for good or for bad. A hatchet, a drill, or a hammer can all be used for creative, constructive purposes as well as causing harm and destruction. That’s how it is with most technologies, too. The internet has allowed for a lot of good to come about over the last 30 to 40 years. But much harm has also come along with it from those who would use the tech in nefarious ways. The same could be said for social media, streaming services, and platforms like Youtube and TikTok.

Now with the rise of generative A.I., large language models, and chatbots, both the good and the bad are accelerating. It’s like adding jet fuel to the fire. While artificial intelligence is all the rage right now, if we are going to use it in any way, we should have our own rules and boundaries in place to limit or prevent the many pitfalls accompanying it.

Cool it with the A.I. flyers and promotional material. Nobody likes it. Just use Canva.

As a pastor, I want to be transparent about my own A.I. use cases. So here is a list of what I do and do not use A.I. tools for.

HOW I USE A.I.

1. Research

When I am researching for a sermon or a class, I will only ask an A.I. model verifiable facts. Sometimes I will ask for a list of Scriptures on a certain topic - but I will always cross check the verses to make sure they say what Claude thinks they say.

My favorite research tool is called GeminiLM, formerly known as NotebookLM. It’s a free program from Google that only uses the sources I give it. Every week I read the Scripture; I gather corresponding related passages; I read and capture highlights from commentaries and other books using the Highlighted App; and I search through trusted online resources related to the passage. All of these can then be imported into GeminiLM as the knowledge base for the week.

It can synthesize all the materials, find connections, make comparisons, develop an overview document, and answer questions. Once again, it’s only drawing from the sources I give it, and each response includes links to the sources it’s using. It can even generate a 15-20 minute podcast between two hosts discussing the materials.

NotebookLM, now GeminiLM, has been a valuable tool in helping to research widely and deeply into whatever passage of Scripture I’m preaching from.

2. Post-Sermon Follow-Up

Each week after our Sunday service, I use Apple Notes to convert the sermon audio file into a text transcript. I then feed that transcript into Claude to do the following.

First, I have it edit the sermon transcript into a blog post. This simple act would take me hours, while Claude does it in moments. I always read and verify that it is not changing my words or the meaning of the message in any way. I think it does a pretty good job most weeks. The output is still my own words, just trimmed down and reformatted a little bit.

Next, I ask Claude to write a short summary paragraph. I use this in the description box on the podcast and Youtube video. These LLMs know how to optimize for search and algorithms, so I let it do its thing here. Once again, I always proofread for content and messaging, making tweaks where necessary.

Then I have Claude provide a list of pull-quotes from the sermon so I can make images to share on social media throughout the week. Combing through the transcript myself would take a long time, but this only takes seconds. I then select the five best choices and use Canva to create a quote-post to share to our church’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Finally, I prompt Claude to develop some discussion questions and give me suggestions of potential areas of the sermon or passage to explore more in depth with a follow-up midweek blog post.

Utilizing Claude in this way saves me literal hours of work and helps provide opportunities for discipleship throughout the week.

3. Sermon Series or Class Topics (very rare)

Very rarely do I use A.I. in this way, but out of full transparency I have done it two or three times over the last few years. Sometimes I simply need help laying out a series or developing certain topics. LLMs can be helpful for brainstorming, giving me loads of options to choose from. While the topics may be generated by A.I., the ultimate decision and development of those topics are mine alone. And this kind of brainstorming can help me think outside the box a bit more than usual.

HOW I DO NOT USE A.I.

1. Writing for Me

I promise not to allow A.I. to write a sermon, blog post, or class for me. Developing and writing a sermon is sacred. I believe God’s Spirit is involved in the process of bringing the Word of God to the People of God. How could I ever offload that process to a soulless, manmade, artificial intelligence? I’d just as soon let my toaster oven write a sermon for me.

2. Creating Images

There are too many creative people in the world for me to rely on generated images for anything. When it comes to biblical themes and stories, master artists throughout the centuries have created unparalleled works of art, and most can be found in high resolution on Wikipedia. Or for more modern human experiences, I will often use the website Unsplash which hosts free, artist-uploaded photographs.

3. Making Promotional Material

I wasn’t joking earlier when I said you should stop making A.I. flyers. They all look terrible – too busy, bad font choices, warped images, flat one-layered look. I could go on. Any time I see one of these, it makes me less likely to pay attention to it and even less likely to attend or share the event. It’s slop. It’s lazy. It lack any real character or inspiration.

4. Thinking for Me

Researching and creative brainstorming are helpful. But when it’s all said and done, I’m the one making the sermon outlines and developing the flow of the points I want to make. It’s up to me to bring these ancient words to life, with the guidance of God’s Spirit. I will not let an A.I. tool do all the thinking for me. It can help me learn. It can help me see things in a different way. But God gave me a brain – and you have one, too! Let’s use our God-given brains more and human-created tools a little less.

PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE

It’s really interesting to dive so deeply into Ecclesiastes during this particular era of human society with advancements in communication, technology, and artificial intelligence. When the Teacher says, “There is nothing new under the sun,” he means it, and it’s still true today. Right now most of the artificial intelligence agents and LLMs (large language models) are trained on materials that already exist. In other words, A.I. isn’t giving you anything new, it’s just repackaging something old. “Can anyone say, ‘Look, here is something new?’” asks Qohelet.

But it would be naive to think this is where A.I. is going to stay. Whether you’re an A.I. optimist or pessimist, we all probably realize this is just the beginning. This is the worst your A.I. chatbot of choice will ever be. Even industry insiders cannot predict what the future of this technology will look like or how it will impact society as a whole. Jobs may be on the line. Maybe we shift to universal basic income and never have to work again because of A.I. Whether we end up in a tech-utopia or a post-apocalyptic nightmare remains to be seen. I’d love it to be more like The Jestons and less like Terminator.

Who knows? Maybe the A.I. “bubble” will burst and we will look back on 2026 as a really weird moment when everyone was trying to make A.I. a thing.

Whatever the case, as Ecclesiastes says, it’s all hevel. It’s all fleeting. It’s all beyond our grasp. So we would all be better off investing in that which will last eternally. The Bible isn’t going anywhere. The church is not dying out. God’s Word is just as living and active today as it ever was. Real love cannot be experienced in cyberspace. Relationships can only be mimicked by A.I. as it predicts what you expect to hear next.

If A.I. were to disappear tomorrow, I would lose nothing except a little bit of time. I probably wouldn’t do some of the things I’ve been doing, but that’s ok. Whatever the future brings, we can face it together as brothers and sisters in Christ. We don’t need Claude, Chat, or Gemini for that.