AI and Discipleship

Today I read a blog post written by an incredibly intelligent and creative ordained neuroscientist named Jessie Cruickshank.

I first heard Jessie speak at the Best Practices Ministry conference in Phoenix Arizona back in February, where she gave a talk on discipleship as attunement. The premise was that “God’s desire for all of us is to be in secure attachment with him, and with each other.” It was fascinating, and I would encourage you to read all of her stuff.

That, however, is not what I wanted to write about today. Well, it’s related, but not the main idea. The post I read today has to do with the question “Can AI make disciples?", a question I find interesting. As someone who works in technology and finds AI and other emerging tech very useful, I can see the value of it in many jobs and human endeavors, including my own. And as someone who works in technology and finds social media, screens, and AI to be a general threat to our society, I can understand the unease and panic surrounding it.

Generally, I approach technology, specifically the current state of AI, as an assistant to my humanity. As soon as we start trying to replace human thoughts or emotions with AI, I think we will lose ourselves (even if AI doesn’t actually take over and we become subservient to our robot overlords). I mean, let’s be honest, it’s not like we haven’t already lost (or at least hidden) vital aspects of ourselves to doom scrolling Twitter or similar activities. But I digress.

One of the things that struck me immediately when reading Jessie’s post was the idea of discipleship as a process of mirroring (something humans do, and can’t get along without) and NOT as a process of information gathering (something AI is very good at, often better than humans).

My faith tradition (Lutheranism) put’s a lot of emphasis on doctrine and knowledge of that doctrine. It makes sense to me - the Reformation was partly a reaction to the inaccessibility of Scripture to the common folk, and therefore a reaction to a withholding of knowledge from them. Scripture contains truth, and that truth should be available to everyone without barrier. That reaction is still happening today. However, I find that we have slipped out of the role of pursuers and proclaimers of Gospel truth and more into a role of protection of “right knowledge.” Either way, “knowing things” is important to Lutherans. We have the Book of Concord, the Small Catechism, and pages of treatises and debates over the proper use of Law and Gospel to prove it.

I grew up, therefore, viewing discipleship as a solo activity, at least primarily. It involved “time alone with God,” reading the bible and consuming commentaries or podcasts or sermons to obtain knowledge. This was how I “grew my faith” which I assumed was what being a disciple meant. Occasionally these activities were done in a group (bible studies, church on Sundays, family devotions) but ultimately the point of being a disciple of Jesus was to know more and more information about him and what he taught us to do.

It was not until the last 5-6 years that I really started to think that perhaps discipleship is something that requires community. Not just because that’s how the best ideas are refined (in the crucible of public discourse) but because being a disciple demands human interaction.

Jessie’s post today taught me that discipleship has very little to do with knowledge. Rather, it has a lot to do with action. I, of course, recognized before today that the point of our knowledge of Scripture is to be able to act on it - to live life in accordance with God’s Word. But today, it clicked for me that action is something that comes from seeing it done. It doesn’t come from simply knowing out or why to do it. We were designed to imitate each other in community. It’s how our brains are wired.

Now, I love knowledge. I love gathering information, the process of learning, gaining new insights from books, podcasts, songs, videos, etc. But it strikes me that human mirroring is actually the origin story of discipleship. Jesus modeled a way for us to act. We can certainly read about it in Scripture. But he modeled it so that it could be handed down for generations. Disciples imitated Jesus, and then were commanded to go and teach other people the same thing - they mirrored, and then they modeled that same behavior for others to mirror.

Discipleship is literally an apprenticeship model! Jesus, the master, taught his craft of compassion, empathy, love, patience, kindness, and right-living to his journeymen; who in turn became “masters” teaching more journeymen and apprentices. It’s an ever-expanding model of “see one, do one, teach one.”

And how much more effective is mirroring and modeling than trying to convince someone of “the correct knowledge” or impart information to them via words or pictures.

Of course, the Gospel is not “this is how you live.” The Gospel is “Jesus died and lived so you can too.” But I firmly believe that the Gospel can fall on deaf ears when it’s not “lived out” for those that hear it. That means being true followers of Jesus and mirroring his way of life so that others can see God’s kingdom on earth.

I am not against the pursuit of truth in Scripture or the obtainment of knowledge. But I think it’s important to understand the power of human community, attachment, modeling, and mirroring, and the role it all plays in our daily lives as followers of Jesus. From the complex neurology and biology of our brain and bodies our infinitely mysterious spirits, we are truly fearfully and wonderfully made!