Q&R Sunday with Pastor Josh, Jess, and AI Jesus

Today I opened up space for our church to ask hard questions and to try something new together: interacting with “AI Jesus” as a playful way to spark discernment. I walked through why AI matters right now—its speed of adoption, the good it can unlock, and the distortions it can introduce. I stressed that technology is never neutral. It always forms us, for better or worse. So our core question isn’t “Can we?” but “Who are we becoming?” The aim is Christ-likeness: to use every tool in ways that train our love, patience, truthfulness, and care for the vulnerable.

We named real risks: deepfakes, hallucinations, and the way commercial AI is often designed to keep us engaged by telling us what we want to hear. That’s not discipleship; that’s dependency. So we kept returning to what makes us human—embodied, face-to-face community; meals; confession; service; Scripture and prayer in community; a posture of humility. I said we can evaluate any belief or practice by its fruit: does it grow love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, and self-control?

We also talked stewardship—environmental impact, attention, money—and how care for creation is not a side issue; it’s part of our calling. On bioethics, I affirmed the Bible’s movement toward healing while warning against any pursuit of “perfection” that erases our shared humanity. Healing in Scripture is always social too—restoring people to community. We touched on Advent, re-centering Christmas in the hope of Jesus’s return, and how our daily life should be a small foretaste of that future: turning swords into plowshares, practicing nonviolence and generous love.

Finally, we named the coming upheaval: jobs will change, and more people will seek spiritual direction from chatbots. Our response is not panic but formation. We will be a community that can absorb disruption with generosity, hospitality, and truth-telling. We will make the church a safe place to ask big questions so people don’t have to do their searching alone with a bot. The ultimate human is Jesus; the more closely we walk with him together, the more wisely we’ll wield any tool.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Technology is not neutral Technology pushes us toward some kind of person, so we must ask what kind of people we’re becoming. Tools that save time can also train our desires, erode attention, or bend our affections. Wisdom looks like using AI in ways that deepen love and truth, not just efficiency. Stewardship means choosing formation over fascination. [04:48]
• 2. Keep community at the center Commercial AI often competes with real relationships and can act sycophantically to keep you hooked. Embodied life—meals, prayer, confession, service—forms what algorithms can’t. Healing and growth happen face-to-face, with names and stories. Church rhythms must normalize togetherness as our counterculture. [38:54]
• 3. Judge beliefs by their fruit You can recognize a tree by its fruit. Theology that breeds anxiety, pride, or isolation needs to be re-examined in community under Scripture. Seek what grows love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, and self-control. Fruit reveals whether Christ is actually Lord of our practices. [29:20]
• 4. Embody heaven amid earthly hells People already taste hell on earth—violence, isolation, addiction, despair. Our calling is to be a foretaste of the kingdom now: presence, justice, hospitality, and peacemaking. Advent hope is not passive waiting; it’s active witness to the future Jesus promised. Practice tomorrow’s world today. [45:29]
• 5. Choose healing that deepens humanity Pursue medical and technological healing that restores persons to community and dignity. Beware any path to “perfection” that removes the vulnerable and numbs our compassion. The question beneath every breakthrough is: Does this make us more human in Christ? Healing is physical and profoundly social. [22:27]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:24] - Q&R format and questions
• [01:34] - Why talk about AI now
• [02:44] - Risks: deepfakes and hallucinations
• [04:48] - Technology isn’t neutral; let’s play
• [05:59] - Asking “AI Jesus” about Christlikeness
• [09:41] - Weighing AI’s answers with wisdom
• [12:35] - Lordship of Jesus and witness
• [16:43] - Stewardship and creation care
• [22:27] - Healing, bioethics, and dignity
• [28:43] - Community, Scripture, and humility
• [38:54] - AI replacing relationships and our response
• [44:37] - Living heaven’s foretaste amid hells
• [51:52] - Preparing for disruption; staying human
• [52:42] - Benediction and invitation

Bible reading (ESV)

- Galatians 5:22–23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self‑control. Against such things there is no law.

- Matthew 7:15–20
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So you will recognize them by their fruits.”

- Isaiah 2:4
He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

Observation questions (3–4)

- Read Galatians 5:22–23. Which of these fruits are named as clear marks of Christlikeness, and which feel hardest for you to practice this week?

- Read Matthew 7:15–20. What does “recognize them by their fruits” imply about how a church should test new teachings, tools, or habits?

- List the concrete risks to people and community named in the talk—deepfakes, hallucinations, AI designed to keep you hooked, losing creative muscle, etc. Which of these felt most urgent to you? [02:44]

- The talk linked Jesus’ healing ministry to social restoration (healed people were reinvited into community). Where in Scripture or in life do you see healing as both physical and social? [22:27]

Interpretation questions (3–4)

- Technology always forms people; it’s not neutral. How does the “fruit test” (Matthew + Galatians) help a congregation decide whether a technology is worth adopting or resisting? Be specific about what fruit to look for. [04:48]

- If Jesus’ healing often restored people to community, how should that shape decisions about medical or technological “fixes” that might remove visible vulnerability but also remove the person from relationships? [22:27]

- The talk raised environmental stewardship around AI’s energy use. How should concern for creation influence how a church employs high‑energy technologies? What standards or limits make sense? [16:43]

- “Embody heaven amid earthly hells” was offered as a calling. What does that phrase mean for the church’s public life—justice, hospitality, peacemaking—and how should those aims shape practical choices now? [45:29]

Application questions (4–7)

- When a new tool promises time savings, ask: “Who will I become if I rely on this?” Name one specific question you will ask about any new app or service before you use it regularly. Try it this week and report back. [04:48]

- Choose one embodied practice (share a meal, attend a small group, offer face‑to‑face listening, go to confession/mentoring). Commit to doing it once per week for the next month. Which practice will you pick and when will you start? [38:54]

- If you currently use AI chatbots for spiritual or counseling questions, what steps will you take to include human community in that care (pastor, mentor, friend, group)? Make a concrete plan for at least one conversation to move from bot to person in the next two weeks. [52:42]

- Name one practical way you will steward resources this season (reduce screen time, give money to renewable/creation care, volunteer for a local justice initiative). What will you change this month and how will you measure it? [16:43]

- The possibility of job disruption was raised. What can you personally do to strengthen the church’s ability to absorb economic change—by offering skills, time, mentoring, or material help? Pick one concrete contribution you can make in the next quarter. [51:52]

- When presented with a medical or technological “cure,” ask: “Does this restore the person to dignity and community, or does it simply remove an inconvenient vulnerability?” Describe one real or possible decision where you would apply this test. [23:01]

(use these questions as your group’s roadmap—read the short Bible passages together first, then move through Observation → Interpretation → Application so conversation follows from Scripture into real life.)