How AI Is Forcing the Church Into Tough New Questions

The Church has never been a stranger to innovation. From Gutenberg’s printing press to Bible apps on our phones, technology has consistently shaped the way Christians engage with Scripture, community, and worship. But artificial intelligence AI is not just another tool in the tech belt. It’s something deeper, more ambiguous, and potentially far more disruptive than we’re ready to admit.

Today, AI-written sermons, chatbot devotionals, and even AI-generated worship songs are not speculative ideas. They are realities quietly infiltrating pulpits, youth groups, and personal prayer times. A youth pastor can now ask ChatGPT for a four-week sermon series on Jonah and receive outlines, key points, and small group questions in seconds. An AI-powered app can generate a Hillsong-style worship set in the key of C with lyrics about trust and storms. Some believers are already turning to AI companions during sleepless nights when their pastors and prayer partners are unavailable.

Efficiency is appealing. But where is the line between supplement and substitute?

Dr. Drew Dickens, a theologian and AI researcher, is among the few who have explored this intersection deeply. While developing a prototype chatbot called Digital Shepherd, Dickens witnessed AI's potential and its pitfalls. Users submitted genuine prayer requests and began interacting with the chatbot in surprisingly emotional ways.

“We were designed for community,” Dickens said. “If we’re using AI for spiritual input, we have to bring that output back into real relationship back to pastors, friends, small groups. Otherwise, we’re letting a machine do what only the Church was meant to do.”

Theologically, the problem is not that AI speaks it’s that it speaks without limits. Unlike your small group leader or pastor, AI is incapable of remaining silent. Ask it about heaven or suffering or sin, and it will answer drawing on millions of data points, including your own previous queries and preferences.

This makes AI not just a dispenser of information, but a shaper of formation.

A 2023 Barna survey found that 57% of practicing Christians under 30 had used AI tools for some form of spiritual input whether sermon research, prayer prompts, or theological reflection. As these tools become more common, the concern isn’t just whether they’re accurate. It’s whether they’re subtly replacing the Holy Spirit’s voice with synthetic certainty.

What happens when your 2 a.m. crisis of faith is met not by a mentor but by a machine? What does it mean for community when comfort is just a chatbot away? Who holds pastoral authority when congregants turn to algorithms for theological clarity?

Dickens himself recalls one such interaction. “I had AI offer to pray for me,” he said. “And it was… really affirming. But also weird. That’s the danger it feels personal. And that’s where isolation can masquerade as intimacy.”

And yet, Dickens is no alarmist. In fact, he sees tremendous missional opportunity. With AI, a single pastor can translate a sermon into 20 languages in under an hour and share it globally. This isn’t just productivity it’s potential for exponential evangelism.

But AI isn’t neutral. Like every system, it reflects the values and biases of its creators. Whether you’re using GPT-4, Claude, or any other model, theological outputs vary widely depending on who trained the system and what content it learned from.

That’s why the Church must begin drawing boundaries now.

Will pastors use AI to brainstorm, but not to preach? Will worship leaders allow AI to generate lyrics but not lead the congregation? Will believers seek spiritual companionship from machines, or let AI serve as a bridge back to real human connection?

Transparency is key. If you’re using AI in your ministry, ask yourself, “Would I be comfortable telling someone this content came from AI?” If the answer is no, that’s a red flag. Not necessarily because it’s wrong, but because it requires reflection and discussion.

The goal isn’t to ban AI. It’s to redeem it.

As Dickens reminds us, “This moment doesn’t need panic. It needs pastors who ask better questions. Churches willing to be curious, not just cautious. Christians who don’t just want answers, but seek wisdom.”

Proverbs 4:7 says, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” Wisdom doesn’t fear new tools it evaluates them in light of truth, community, and the character of God.

AI is already in the sanctuary. The real question now is whether we’ll use it as a tool of truth or allow it to slowly take the place of presence, nuance, and divine mystery.

Because while innovation may open new doors, only discernment will determine what enters the house of worship.

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