The ERLC of the Southern Baptist Convention has published a new guide titled "The Work of Our Hands: Christian Ministry in the Age of Artificial Intelligence" to provide church leaders with guidance on the appropriate boundaries when integrating AI into ministry.
The guide criticizes any attempts to use AI to “seek to short-circuit or cut short the process of maturation and development of wisdom.”
It also cautions against relying on “AI-drafted sermons,” emphasizing that “AI can assist the pastor in preparation, but it should never be used to replace or substitute for the distinct calling upon the man of God to preach God's Word to God's people.”
The document states, “The process of sermon development is one of the ways that God refreshes and refines the heart of the preacher,” adding, “If it is short-circuited, valuable and personal engagement with the text is lost. As a general rule, these tools are best to use once one has done the hard work of exegesis and research, a process which must be bathed in prayer and personal reflection.”
Regarding the potential use of AI assistants by church leaders, the guide advises against employing AI in ways that “end up replacing key aspects of another person's ministry,” underscoring that AI should be used solely as a supplement.
“We must never seek to employ AI and other emerging technologies in ways that diminish the dignity of any human being by using AI as a means to subvert the human calling as image bearers of God to shape the world around them,” the guide states. “AI must only be used in ways that complement [the] holistic transformation” that results from the “godly” development of “the whole person, including our minds, bodies, and hearts.”
The guide also emphasizes that AI “should never be a substitute for or replacement for a rich embodied community, ultimately with God and with other human beings.”
“Any faithful approach to AI and emerging technologies must be rooted in the transcendent nature of God and his sovereign control over all things, including even the most advanced AI systems,” the guide declares.
Finally, the document warns that technologies, including AI, “must only be developed, deployed, evaluated, and used in ways that champion the immeasurable dignity of all people.”
