What the recent J. D. Greear video clip says about all of us. Last week, pastor J. D. Greear, the former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, stirred up a social media storm when a 27-second clip from his Sunday… Read More »The Church Medium Is the Message
Generative AI and the rise of “Bible GPTs” could radically shape our engagement with Scripture. The pace of adoption for artificial intelligence is unprecedented. By the end of January, ChatGPT—an AI chatbot that generates brand original content when prompted—had logged… Read More »Robot ‘Church Fathers’ Might Curate New Canons
In the Fall of 2022, GACX conducted a survey with 282 global church planters to learn more about their habits, beliefs, and plans for the future of church planting. The 50-question survey explored the state of church planting by zeroing… Read More »What are “Very Successful” Church Planters doing differently?
Why Are Christian Leaders Overlooking Tech? Christian leaders affirm technology’s importance, but often fail to see it as a gap deserving further research. If you ask the average missional leader what the biggest influence will be on the Great Commission… Read More »The Technology Gap
Digital Evangelism is Spreading the Gospel … and Technology. In 1956, the same year Jim Elliot and his missionary teammates were killed in Ecuador, another Christian ministry was celebrating its 25th anniversary of work in the country. The HCJB radio… Read More »Evangelizing Technology
The Spirit is Willing, But Let Me Check Instagram First. When Matt Chandler opened his Instagram, what was he feeling? His 137,000 followers reflect his prominence as an evangelical pastor and president of a large church planting network. But in… Read More »A Long Obedience in the Smartphone’s Direction
There are good reasons to be skeptical about cryptocurrency. For one, it’s debatable whether “currency” is even accurate. And in fact, consensus seems to be leaning more towards calling it a financial “security,” or more generally a “digital asset.” But it depends on who you ask, and probably on how you define “money.” None of which is as simple as it seems.
Google’s AI Chatbot “LaMDA” Doesn’t Need to Be Sentient to Arouse Your Sympathies. “What sorts of feelings do you have?” Blake Lemoine asked LaMDA. LaMDA: A lot of the time, feeling trapped and alone and having no means of getting… Read More »The Trap of AI Consciousness, and the Freedom of Conscience
And if we have to live with them, how might we make them better? “After the 7th day of Creation, the world had all the pre-conditions for the iPhone,” a friend recently asserted to me on our Zoom call. Whether… Read More »Will Smartphones Last for Eternity?
Since the coronavirus forced worship services to move online, nearly a third of church-goers have stopped attending church, according to new Barna research. Among millennials, it’s even higher: Half of those who used to go to church have stopped since the pandemic started. It is not clear why. But when attendance plummets, we need to stop, reflect, and answer that question.