The Blue Vineyard Podcast

Everyone's asking whether AI will end the world. The quieter risk is that we stop thinking for ourselves, and stop listening to the people God placed around us. Luke and Adam's hypotheses = the biggest danger is either painting AI with too broad a brush, or relying on it until we can no longer feed ourselves. This episode features insights from Brent Hardinge, Pastor Wes Via, Craige Young, Pastor Puia Fanai and Pastor Russ Willcocks. They explore the risks AI poses to faith communities, from outsourcing our thinking and drifting from the local church to deepfakes, surveillance and a growing divide in our congregations. This is Part Six of AI in the Age of Christianity, please subscribe to help us grow. FEATURED VOICES 🔗 Brent Hardinge: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brenthardinge/ 🔗 Pastor Wes Via: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wes-via 🔗 Craige Young: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ucyinc 🔗 Pastor Puia Fanai, Hope Channel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/puia-fanai-21945b196/ | https://www.facebook.com/rspuiafanai/ 🔗 Pastor Russ Willcocks: https://www.linkedin.com/in/russ-willcocks-13126640/ CONNECT WITH BLUE VINEYARD 🔵 Subscribe for more insights on faith and technology 🎙️ Audio Podcast: https://rss.com/podcasts/bluevineyard/ 🌐 Website: https://bluevineyard.com 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-vineyard/ ✉️ Get in touch: [email protected]

There’s no button to make AI go away, so the question is ... where you refuse to let it in? Luke and Adam's hypothesis = the line falls between what is distinctly human and what is repetitive. This episode features insights from Craige Young, Pastor Puia Fanai, Pastor Wes Via and Pastor Jëan Ross, they discuss some areas where AI should and should not be used for. This is Part Five of AI in the Age of Christianity, please subscribe to help us grow. FEATURED VOICES 🔗 Craige Young: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ucyinc 🔗 Pastor Puia Fanai, Hope Channel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/puia-fanai-21945b196/ | https://www.facebook.com/rspuiafanai/ 🔗 Pastor Wes Via: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wes-via 🔗 Pastor Jëan Ross, Amazing Facts: https://www.amazingfacts.org/ezra/ CONNECT WITH BLUE VINEYARD 🔵 Subscribe for more insights on faith and technology 🎙️ Audio Podcast: https://rss.com/podcasts/bluevineyard/ 🌐 Website: https://bluevineyard.com 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-vineyard/ ✉️ Get in touch: [email protected]

If you could press one button and make AI disappear, would you? The guys found it to be one of the hardest q's to answer. Luke started wanting to press it, Adam refuses. Listen to the end to hear where they landed. FEATURED VOICES 🔗 Brent Hardinge, Director of Adventist Connect, North American Division: https://adventistconnect.org 🔗 Pastor Russ Willcocks: https://www.linkedin.com/in/russ-willcocks-13126640 🔗 Pastor Puia Fanai, Hope Channel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/puia-fanai-21945b196/ | https://www.facebook.com/rspuiafanai/ 🔗 Pastor Jëan Ross, Amazing Facts CONNECT WITH BLUE VINEYARD 🔵 Subscribe for more insights on faith and technology 🎙️ Audio Podcast: https://rss.com/podcasts/bluevineyard/ 🌐 Website: https://bluevineyard.com 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-vineyard/ ✉️ Get in touch: [email protected]

Will AI change how we do ministry? In this episode, Luke and Adam argue that it already is, and that the more important question is where to draw the line. Featuring insights from Pastor Puia Fanai, Craige Young, Pastor Jëan Ross and Pastor Russ Willcocks, they look at AI triaging thousands of messages at Hope Channel, a Bible study chatbot on WhatsApp that hands people to a real mentor, church website chatbots that answer within 24 hours instead of next Sabbath, and what responsible sermon prep looks like when AI is in the room. The thread running through it all: AI can change the how of ministry, but not the why. It can filter, curate, research and follow up. It cannot love, pray, discern or carry someone's suffering. Moses still needed Jethro, and the church still needs Moses. This is Part Three of AI in the Age of Christianity, a series where Luke and Adam bring in guests, explore the hard questions, and work toward a framework the church can actually use. TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 Could AI pray for me? 00:00:45 Welcome, and this episode's question 00:01:15 Luke's hypothesis: AI changes the how, not the why 00:02:15 Adam's light bulb analogy 00:03:40 Clip 1: Pastor Puia Fanai on triaging engagement and Bible study chatbots at Hope Channel 00:07:40 Compression and curation: AI's core strength at scale 00:10:00 Clip 2: Craige Young on 24-hour follow-up and church chatbots 00:12:15 Getting the chatbot experience right 00:17:00 Agentic tools and the pastor's personal assistant 00:18:40 Can AI help pastors preach? 00:20:00 Clip 3: Pastor Jëan Ross on sermon prep, slides and research 00:23:20 A great study partner, a poor architect 00:27:10 Clip 4: Pastor Russ Willcocks on Moses, Jethro and what technology can't do 00:29:30 Pulling the threads together 00:32:30 Next episode: would you push the button? FEATURED VOICES 🔗 Pastor Puia Fanai, Hope Channel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/puia-fanai-21945b196/ | https://www.facebook.com/rspuiafanai/ 🔗 Craige Young: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ucyinc 🔗 Pastor Jëan Ross, Amazing Facts https://www.amazingfacts.org/ 🔗 Pastor Russ Willcocks: https://www.linkedin.com/in/russ-willcocks-13126640 CONNECT WITH BLUE VINEYARD 🔵 Subscribe for more insights on faith and technology 🎙️ Audio Podcast: https://rss.com/podcasts/bluevineyard/ 🌐 Website: https://bluevineyard.com 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-vineyard/ ✉️ Get in touch: [email protected]

In this episode, Luke and Adam share highlights from conversations they had with four ministry leaders following Adam's sermon on AI. Featuring insights from Pastor Wes Via, Pastor Russ Willcocks, Pastor Jëan Ross, and Craige Young, they explore some central issues surrounding the AI dilemma. You’ll be empowered to use your creative energies in a new way after listening to this episode! TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 Welcome back, and how the AI series has unfolded so far 00:01:00 Adam's takeaways from ASI and a season of interviews 00:02:00 Luke's hypothesis: education is the foundation 00:03:00 Clip 1: Pastor Wes Via on preparing for an unknown future 00:07:00 Reframing AI from myth to tool 00:07:30 Clip 2: Pastor Russ Willcocks on the how versus the why of ministry 00:09:00 Why ministry itself can never be outsourced 00:10:00 Clip 3: Pastor Jëan Ross on AI as a resource for the gospel 00:13:00 What Blue Vineyard is building with Amazing Facts 00:16:00 Clip 4: Craige Young on the knife and water principle 00:20:00 Democratized technology and what it means for jobs 00:25:00 A teaser for what's coming next in the series FEATURED VOICES 🔗 Pastor Wes Via — https://www.linkedin.com/in/wes-via 🔗 Pastor Russ Willcocks — https://www.linkedin.com/in/russ-willcocks-13126640 🔗 Pastor Jëan Ross 🔗 Craige Young — https://www.linkedin.com/in/ucyinc CONNECT WITH BLUE VINEYARD 🔵 Subscribe for more insights on faith and technology 🎙️ Audio Podcast — https://rss.com/podcasts/bluevineyard/ 🌐 Website — https://bluevineyard.com 💼 LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-vineyard/ ✉️ Get in touch — [email protected]