This Is the Printing Press Moment Again
A conversation with the Means of Grace podcast
There was a time when people thought writing things down would wreck faith.
Memory would rot.
Wisdom would flatten.
Truth would get weaker the moment it wasn’t carried face-to-face.
Then the printing press showed up and people made the same prediction in new clothes… the church would splinter, scripture would get “too accessible,” everything would go off the rails.
Every single time… God kept working.
That’s the frame the hosts of Means of Grace opened with, and it’s the reason I was glad to join them to talk about my debut book, God and the Machine.
AI is one of those “new tool” moments where the church is at a breaking point.
AI is a tool — not one with magical powers. And it’s a tool, like many before it, that exposes what we reach for when we’re tired: speed, polish, efficiency, certainty.
And if you’ve spent any time in ministry, you already know how seductive that combo is—especially when you’ve got a sermon deadline and fifteen other plates spinning.
In the episode, I talk about why I wrote the book from the position I did: I’m an elder in the conference, and I’m also the founding pastor of Checkpoint Church, a digital-first community built for nerds, geeks, and gamers. We meet primarily on Discord. Technology isn’t a side hobby for us—it’s the environment.
And I’ve watched two groups drift into a collision course:
folks who treat AI like the shiny answer to everything
folks who feel their stomach drop every time someone brings it up
My goal with this conversation isn’t to hand you a verdict. It’s to offer a way to stay grounded while the ground is moving.
The moment that drew the line for me
At one point, we talk about an “AI Jesus” that showed up on Twitch—a generated Jesus face responding to people’s questions in chat.
And the trouble was — AI Jesus wasn’t doing a bad job. The responses weren’t always a disaster. Some of them sounded… comforting. Useful. Like something you could imagine someone sharing as “encouragement.”
That’s exactly why it’s dangerous.
Because it trains people to accept a simulation of spiritual relationship as if it carries the weight of the real thing. It teaches us to confuse a responsive machine with a present God. Even when it “sounds right,” it reshapes the instincts underneath us: who we trust, what we turn to, what we expect from faith.
That’s one of the big red flags I keep coming back to in my own discernment: the moment AI stops being a tool and starts trying to become a companion.
The pastoral temptation nobody wants to say out loud
We also name the question every pastor eventually runs into: What about sermons?
Because yes—AI can generate something clean. Sometimes it even sounds better than the first draft you fought for. And if you’re already stretched thin, the temptation isn’t theoretical. It’s sitting right there, asking if you want to save an hour. Or ten.
In the episode, I share where I draw lines for myself, and why I keep returning to a simple Christian center of gravity: love God, love neighbor, do good, do no harm.
Not as a slogan. As a filter.
Because AI doesn’t just change how fast you can produce content—it presses on what you think ministry is for.
If this topic has made you curious—or nervous—or both—this episode of Means of Grace is for you. And if you’re trying to lead a community through this without pretending you have it all figured out, God and the Machine is written to be wrestled with together, not just skimmed alone.
Get the book: Cokesbury | Amazon
Make it a Bible Study: Cokesbury | Amazon