WOULD I PREACH AN AI SERMON?

 

I just read a sermon generated by AI (Artificial Intelligence). I instructed AI (ChatGPT) to “write a sermon based on John 4:1-42”. The result was a 572-word sermon, including a closing prayer, written in ten seconds.

AI entitled the sermon – The Thirst of the Soul - A Journey from Desolation to Living Water. Honestly, I was impressed. The AI sermon was biblically focused and clearly articulated the key ideas of the text. The title of the sermon captured the spirit of the preaching text and bridged to the contemporary listener – it was accurate and very appealing. The sermon was also easy to follow, and the message was clear. The sermon also explained the history between Jews and Samaritans, so the listener could recognize the tension of the story and better appreciate why Jesus’ offer of living water was considered adequate for someone in need.

Agreed, the sermon was too short for a typical Sunday Worship Service. However, the structure was strong enough to accommodate elaboration. If my AI inquiry were a serious quest for a sermon, I would have saved myself many hours of study – I got the information in about ten seconds.  

However, this AI sermon has left us with a few serious questions. Among them is this, could AI generated sermons replace human preparation? That is very likely. The preacher can easily become a mere technician and an orator. But would that make a difference? The AI sermon sounded much better than many of the sermons I have heard on the same text.

However, I must say at this point, that preaching is much more than the delivery of content. Preparing the content is also a part of the process. There is an encounter in preparation that enables the preacher to connect with the content. The process requires research, conflict, conviction, struggle, prayer, and the birthing of passion for delivery. If AI replaces this process, the authenticity of the sermon will be compromised. 

After more than 55 years of preaching, I still encounter struggle in my preparation. As a matter of fact, the struggle is even more intense now, than earlier, when I was unaware of the many nuances involved in exegeting the text and the audience. For instance, I struggle to ensure that what I am preparing is what I was asked to deliver. I struggle with the awesome awareness of speaking on God’s behalf. I struggle with locating biblical texts that best reflect the expectations of my audience. I struggle with finding appropriate words to communicate what the text meant to the original recipients and how to communicate that understanding to my contemporary audience. Preparing sermons entail a healthy and necessary struggle.

The process builds passion, reminds of the need for divine assistance, nurtures compassion and strengthens confidence. The process impacts me intellectually, emotionally, physically and spiritually. The process of preparing content must challenge the preacher to respond to the sermon, before expecting others to do the same. In other words, through preparation, the preacher must have an encounter with God that results in transformation and renewal.

Then, should the preacher use AI in preparing sermons? Certainly. AI can be useful in preparing sermons. A colleague of mine mentioned that he uses AI in his sermon preparation. The exercise saves him as much as 40% of his preparation time. AI can assist with referencing sermon topics and finding appropriate illustrations.

Always remember, AI is a type of technology, based on the concept of machines being able to learn and apply principles of reasoning and problem-solving, without being explicitly programmed to do so. Interestingly, when AI does not know, it sometimes fabricates answers. Most discussions of AI acknowledge that until its accuracy improves, it cannot be relied upon, without significant editing.

The truth is, AI synthesizes material gathered from data bases across the Internet. It is an amalgamation of innumerable, public-domain sources. In the process, AI can produce the very best of what the Internet offers, as well as the very worst. With time, AI is becoming more reliable in that additional information is input into data bases every minute.

Despite these promising signs of improvement, I contend that preparing a sermon is more than reciting well-researched content. The preacher is both a researcher and an orator. And, the process of researching should not be compromised by more efficient means of data collection and composition. AI sermons may even invite and get positive audience responses. However, this would be achieved at the expense of undermining authentic preaching. Authentic preaching requires the preacher’s initiative, creativity, vulnerability and conviction. Artificial Intelligence cannot manufacture those for the preacher.