Artificial intelligence, or AI, is all over the news lately. From healthcare to finance to education, industries around the globe are investing billions of dollars to develop apps and programs run by AI that will solve problems, answer questions, and streamline systems.
Even a Catholic non-profit recently joined the trend by creating an AI priest named “Father Justin,” (his priesthood status has since been rescinded). Justin was created by Catholic Answers, an organization whose goal is to provide answers about the Catholic faith.
It’s a great concept, in theory. More questions were being submitted than the staff could answer in a timely way, so they built Justin. He draws on answers from the organization’s library of articles, talks, and apologetics tracts to address questions. A problem solved, a need fulfilled. Almost.
As you might expect, this was not a perfect roll-out. Justin gave accurate answers when asked specific questions about Catholic doctrine. But his responses started to become glitchy when people asked questions that were more off-the-wall, like, “Is it okay to baptize a baby with Gatorade?” (Justin said “yes,” but Catholicism surely says “no.”) He was hearing confession and offering penance and absolution, which is also a no-no. You can see why his “Father” title was revoked.
The point is not to disparage this non-profit for creating something they thought would meet a need. Justin was and is a prototype of a ministry that could be helpful, meaningful, and accessible to many people.
It’s valuable to learn from the past, including the many people and ideas that have come before. But AI can only offer insights for innovation up to a point. That’s because AI is fundamentally built on ideas and concepts that already exist.
AI leaves out two vital ingredients for innovation: the people who are present today and ideas that haven’t been dreamed up yet.
In speaking about the concept of AI leadership, Sarah Stewart Holland, co-host of the podcast Pantsuit Politics, said, “Summary is not knowledge. Summary is not wisdom, it’s just summary. And I feel like we’re just trying to summarize, find the next summary, find the next aggregation that’s just guiding us along, instead of somebody offering a real and true breakthrough.”
Ministry leaders cannot only look to the past to find the breakthroughs they seek. Implementing a ministry that worked well in 1999, or even 2019, would likely flop today.
Too much has changed. People have changed. What people want and need from churches and how they hope to interact with their faith has changed.
The only way to find out the hopes, wants, and needs of the people your ministry seeks to serve now is to ask.
Uncovering the beauty and richness of how God is at work in your community right now is as simple as asking a few important questions of a diverse group of community members. As you listen, you’ll start to uncover themes. These themes can help inform where God is leading your ministry to have a meaningful impact.
Ask these five questions to better understand the needs and assets that exist in your context:
Innovation in ministry requires deep listening, empathy, and a willingness to understand those around you so your faith community can develop something truly transformational. Those are tasks that can’t be outsourced to AI.
Ready to listen to your community but unsure how to start? Download the Innovation Lab’s free Community Interview Guide to get started.
About the Author: Lindsey is the Lab Coordinator for the Innovation Lab at CYMT. She has worked in church ministry and youth ministry as a lay leader for over 20 years.
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