There are a lot of fears and excitement right now over the rapid development of AI technologies such as ChatGPT. I want to start by addressing the fear of the AI itself. Some are concerned about what it could develop into. We suddenly have thoughts of Hollywood depictions of AI gone wrong like in iRobot, or Terminator. As we think about AI and church, I have a question that I think puts these fears to rest.

Can life come from nothing? The answer to that is no. The fears and concerns of AI becoming sentient are overblown. These new AI models mimic intelligence, but true intelligence requires a supernatural Creator God.

Good and Evil

It is however a very powerful piece of technology a tool that can be very useful. I think there will be some that embrace it and use it to improve and speed up everyday tasks both in business and personal lives. Of course, anytime a new technology arises some may lose their jobs, or find their jobs changing, but also new jobs will be created. And, just like any tool in our toolbox AI can be used for good and evil depending on the user. The only real concern I believe with AI is if governments use these tools to suppress their citizens.

A.I. and The Church

But can AI be useful in the church? Should we use ChatGPT to write our sermons, and create songs of worship? I wouldn’t go that far with it, though I am sure you could get ChatGPT to do these tasks for you. But then how could you present a sermon or a Bible study from your heart and the heart of God when it was prepared by an AI compiled it from the data already available on the internet, and from words written by other individuals who took the time to meet with God and study his words. No, I’m afraid using AI to write a sermon, or worship song in my mind would result in something very shallow spiritually.

However, that doesn’t mean AI used correctly couldn’t be a tool in sermon preparation if you are already studying God’s Word and have in mind what you want to present. In your sermon preparation you might experience difficulty expressing a thought, and in that instance you could use AI to refine your thoughts. AI could quickly look for reference materials, give quick definitions, or even help you understand a concept better because it really can be a good research tool, however, always double-check any information you get from an AI because they do sometimes get it wrong.

I also think AI could help churches in areas they struggle with like creating content for marketing events, or for social media posts. AI photo generators like Midjourney can help church graphic design teams create sermon slide images that express concepts that are sometimes hard to find in standard stock photography.

Toolbox

I think AI is a tool that could be added to a church’s toolbox. I would only draw the line on using AI for anything that touches on the spiritual as I believe it could lead to a very shallow understanding and response to spiritual things, but there are plenty of practical uses where AI can be used to help a local church accomplish its goals in reaching the community around them.

I finally finished listening to Mark Sayers’s book, “A Non-Anxious Presence–How a Changing and Complex World Will Create a Remnant of Renewed Christian Leaders“. It’s worth a review. 

Who Its For, and What It Is About

If you’ve read any of Mark Sayers‘s books or listened to any of his podcasts, A Non-Anxious Presence, is the kind of work you can reasonably come to expect from Mark. While I think A Non-Anxious Presence is primarily aimed at church and or Christian leaders, anyone can and, spoiler alert: should read it. 

Mark surveys cultural, media and technological shifts, including “The Pandemic” aka COVID-19, and its implications for Christians and the church at large. A proficient student of history and culture, Mark shares a framework for understanding and navigating the present reality and challenges. He shows how times of change, flux and uncertainty can be an opportunity to build resilience and foundation for revival. 

Some of My Favourite Quotes

The structures of the modern world implicitly promise that we can operate as leaders, even as Christian leaders, without thought or need for God. Instead of our foundation being in Christ and His kingdom’s way of influence, we rest on the cultural foundation set by the modern world of what it is to lead. 

We measure leadership with earthly definitions of success and power. A secular autopilot version of Christian leadership takes hold, where we lead like practical atheists, with God as an afterthought. 

In the networked world, even the most committed believer will consume only a fraction of the information and input from their church compared to what they consume via podcasts, YouTube, and Netflix. The digital network is now our primary formational environment. 

It shapes our opinions, values, and worldview. Today, the average churchgoer will Google a problem before they approach their pastor. The digital network is the primary shaper of their theological, political, and cultural worldview.

What I Did Not Like About The Book

I did not like that I was told what we were going to explore in the chapter we were already in, instead of just being told. This is just a personal peeve. I think authors should just say what they want to and not tell us first what they are about to tells us.

I felt that the last two chapters were not a strong as preceding ones. I don’t know what I was expecting or hoping they would be. Then again, they might not be for me right now. 

What I Loved About A Non-Anxious Presence

The book is well researched and written. Mark communicated some of the complicated themes and points in a way that is easy to understand and follow. Its insights are invaluable and is a great resource for Christians and church leaders as they look to lead themselves and others.

As I’ve already mentioned, read this book. 

Thanks Mark .

Sharing sermon audio isn’t just for big name preachers like Tim Keller, John Piper and Tony Evans.

But editing sermon audio can take a long time and if you don’t have a permanent member of staff or experienced volunteer then it can be a real time sink.

Luckily there’s a new native Mac and IOS app that can help you edit your sermons faster, generate a transcript almost instantly and can create sharable video clips too. It’s called Pompom.

What is Pompom?

Pompom is a native Mac and iOS podcast editing app that makes it easier and faster to record, edit and share podcasts. Pompom achieves this goal by generating near-instant audio transcriptions of recordings and using AI and audio editing smarts to help you complete quick edits and then share your recordings.

And unlike most modern apps which run in a web browser, Pompom runs on device and so you never need to worry about losing work from a doggy connection or end up waiting for a simple page view to load.

Edit podcasts and transcripts in Pompom

While you can edit your podcast via a traditional sound waveform, Pompom can produce a transcript so you can zip around to find the key moments you need to edit. This is extremely powerful for podcasts where you want to find an edit point, but it is also relevant for sermon recordings too.

If you record more than just the sermon, you can jump to the point where the sermon starts and cut everything prior to that.

And now you also have a transcript that you can add to the sermon page which can help with SEO or for those who are hard of hearing.

The transcripts aren’t perfect as they are using machine learning tools, but there’s no way I would have the time to create a transcript of our church’s sermons without them.

And best of all, unlike some services they are free.

Generate sharable video clips in a flash

Pompom can also help you share your sermons thanks to its video clips. All you do is copy some text or part of the podcast and then select to share. You’ll be in a simple video editor that lets you customise the clip. When you’re ready, save and export.

If you can find a couple of short clips to share, you’ve got some great social media content for this week and you can reuse them weeks later.

Free but with in app purchase

Like most apps these days, Pompom is freemium with an inapp subscription. What is unusual is how much you get for free in Pompom.

• two track editing
• free transcription
• video clip sharing (with a watermark)
• automatic audio enhancements

All included. The subscription features are for more pro editors and some timesaving enhancements.

• more than two tracks
• removing the video clip watermark
• automatic silence removal using AI.

Why you might not want Pompom

Pompom is not without limitations. It’s a native Mac and iOS app so android, windows and linux owners need to look elsewhere.

Download Pompom today

If you are interested in trying pompom, then download it and you can start transcribing and editing your sermon audio fast.

• Download pompom today.

On average, social media posts with graphics get at least 2.3X more engagement than those without according to a Buzzsumo report. It’s no wonder that so many churches create and share so many every day. But if you want to share a graphic with each post, that required an regular investment of time and skill to complete.

Smaller churches often lack enough volunteers and they can’t afford to, or have other prioritizes than hiring a designer. Meanwhile larger churches can end up sinking large amounts of time in quick graphic design tasks that prevent them from investing that time on larger project.

While there have been a host of collaborative graphic design tools that have helped address this problem, one new tool from past ChurchMag contributor Dustin Stout offers a whole new approach. In fact, it is the fastest way to create great looking social media graphics.

Introducing SoVisual

SoVisual provides good looking templates that you just type some text in, add an image and you have instantly good looking graphics in formats for instagram, Facebook and stories.

Here’s how quick it is.

How SoVisual works

When you start using SoVisual, you enter your brand details like account name, web address, logo and brand colours. These are then instantly available when you make a new graphic but can be customised as you need.

Now, search for and pick a template such as mimicking a tweet, an event invite, or a quote graphic. Once you’ve selected, you can adjust the colours, images and text with a few fields and then press create.
In a matter of seconds you’ll have a selection of graphics in the top social media formats ready for you to share. If you notice an issue, you just adjust and press create again.

No fiddling with text placement or size. Just pick a template and go.

What about for churches?

Have a look for yourself at this special page Dustin created for churches.

If you have a verse of the day, you can turn that into a graphic in under a minute. Perhaps you have some quotes or questions from the sermon, just collect them together, grab a template and go.
Or create graphics to promote and follow up from events with a couple of clicks.

Because it’s so quick, you can easily create a weeks content for social media in the time it would normally take someone to create one graphic.

Best of all, you can start for free and access a limited set of templates so you don’t even have to pay to get the benefits (but seriously, you totally should pay. You’ll get more template, team collaboration and help support a great guy).

So head over to SoVisual to find out more.

I can still remember waking up early one morning, stumbling down stairs and finding my dad on the sofa reading his Bible and praying. He told me it was his “quiet time” and part of his way of connecting with God before the day started. That memory has stayed with me since and now I wake every morning for my own quiet time.

Like most people, I have better and worse seasons and there have been times when I felt like it was more a mindless routine than others. So when I heard that Brian Heasley from 24/7 prayer had published Be Still: A Simple Guide To Quiet Times, I decided to pick up a copy.

I’m glad I did.

What is inside Be Still: a Simple Guide to Quiet Times

Be Still has both practical and theoretical points on different activities you can use during your quiet times (as well as an overview of what a quiet time is). These include:

• Bible reading
• Prayer
• Memorizing scripture
• Journaling
• Using your imagination
• Basking in wonder
• Living simply
• Being generous
• Mission
• and more.

While some of these topics might not sound like they are traditional “quiet time” activities, Brian shows how they can come out of quiet times as well as feedback into your quiet times.

Who should read it?

Obviously, this is a great book for a new Christian who is looking to get started in Christian formation and spiritual disciplines. But it is also useful for people who have been christians for a long time, and feel their times with God have become routine, or neglected and they want to get out of that rut.

There are video sessions too!

If you want a taste of the book, a bonus accompaniment or some prompts to spark discussions around the book in small groups, then 24/7 Prayer have put out a video series to compliment the book.
It’s only five videos long but it’s a useful resource none the less.

Wrapping up

I found Be Still to be an edifying read and it inspired me to change my quiet time practices. While some parts felt very familiar to those found in books such as celebration of discipline, Brian Heasley adds his own points and experiences that add a real modern take. I am glad I read it.

You can get a copy of Be Still: A Simple Guide To Quiet Times on Amazon | IndieBound