As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
By Brian Richard
For pastors, the last decade has presented a perfect storm of cultural upheaval, societal trends, and accelerated change. Pastors constantly face difficult and pressing questions about how to “do church” in the twenty-first century. Since the internet has fundamentally changed almost every aspect of our lives, many ask, “Why shouldn’t the church change too?”
“AI and ChatGPT … make a tantalizing, almost irresistible offer: They’ll do your work for you. They’ll write the sermon, exegete the passage, draft the lesson plan, and outline the discussion questions while you get to the real work of ministry.” - CToday
Read the series.
It’s always a great privilege to speak in a new church, but it’s a privilege that also requires precise preparation!
As I have written previously in this series, I strive to ask the following questions before I go into a church to speak for the first time:
“Some 17% of U.S. adults regularly attend religious services in person and watch them online or on TV….Roughly three-quarters of this group…say they prefer attending in person” - Pew
“First Baptist Church, Meridian, Idaho, is now a host location for Shepherds Theological Seminary’s cluster classroom program.” - GARBC
“ChatGPT metaphorizes and individualizes Scripture without a clear method for when and why, without warrant, and often in direct contradiction to the text itself. Second, the bot’s interpretations are ignorant of the interpretive traditions that produce them.” - CToday
Recently, over at Proclaim & Defend, Taigen Joos offered some thoughts on projecting song lyrics on screens during congregational singing.
I appreciate pastor Joos’ focus on practicality, and that’s my focus here also. He’s absolutely correct that there are challenges involved in using screens without hymnals, and that churches should think through their options.
“#1-Even if hymnals are available and acknowledged, hardly anyone…uses them….#2-Generally, there is very little to no harmony being sung….#3-It is much more difficult to teach through the stanza progression of hymns….#4-Only those familiar with the hymn can sing it.” - P&D
“When we announced the discontinuation of LifewayWorship.com, we were not, I think, totally prepared for the response of church leaders. I think we didn’t do enough listening with worship leaders who are in the trenches relying on this tool.” - BPNews
Discussion