I’m old enough to remember pens and ink wells, No. 2 pencils, mimeograph machines, flannel boards, the thrill of a Remington typewriter, and eventually those big box-like computers that began appearing on our desks.

Today, my recurring challenge is simply keeping my laptop, iPad, smartphone, and smartwatch connected and behaving as though they belong to the same family.

It has been a lifetime of reading, writing, learning—and adapting. And now we have the Internet and artificial intelligence. Every major technological change seems to arrive carrying two things: new possibilities and new anxieties.

Through the years, I have listened to friends and colleagues in ministry debate what each new technology might do to the church, to culture, to society as a whole. Some concerns proved justified. Others faded with time.

For the most part, I have tried not to say too much about things I do not yet understand. “Learn before pronouncing” still seems like a better idea.

But I have also been curious enough to try the new tool.

Now, as a pastor who writes, I find myself facing a question I never needed to ask before. It is not simply, “Is AI good or bad?” The better question is:

At what point does a tool stop helping the writer and start replacing the writer?

I suspect my best answer is wonderfully simple and old-fashioned:

A writer must remain responsible for every word carrying his or her name.

This is not new. It has always been true.

A pencil cannot take responsibility for what it writes. Neither can a typewriter, a computer, or an artificial intelligence program. The responsibility remains with the person using it.

So yes, I use AI.

I use it to discuss ideas, test a thought, organize material, question a weak paragraph, identify repetition, research leads, and sometimes suggest a clearer way of saying something I have already been trying to say.

But the experiences are mine. The convictions are mine. The stories, theology, interpretations, and final judgments are mine. Nothing is accepted simply because a machine suggested it.

This distinction matters to me because integrity matters.

I do not want technology to replace my voice. I want it, when useful—whether pencil, pen, computer, or AI—to help me hear my own voice more clearly.

That is true with a project I am working on called The Town Square—a gathering place for stories, faith, memory, questions, and the lessons of a long life. It requires technological skills I do not have, which means working with a younger team that does.

But the fact that a man approaching ninety is using one of the newest technologies in the world to help preserve and communicate nearly a century of life is not something I feel a need to hide.

In some ways, it may be part of the story. AI can help me organize a memory. It can question an assumption. It can point out where I am wandering. It can help polish a sentence.

But it cannot remember my father standing beside me and my bicycle. It did not know Dixie. It did not preach my sermons, raise our children, bury my friends, wrestle with my faith, or sit beside people in their hours of grief.

Those things belong to a human life, not a machine.

And perhaps this is where the line finally becomes clear. The machine may be a useful tool. But the life, the wisdom, the responsibility—and the integrity—must remain with the pastor who writes.

 

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Proverbs 20:7 — “The righteous lead blameless lives; blessed are their children after them.”

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Thriller—>Family Suspense—>Christian—>Exciting—> Contemporary—>Historical suspense

~ THE CAIN FAMILY CHRONICLES ~

Three stories. Three tests. One question.

What will you believe when everything is at stake?

Presence without answers.
Companionship without control.
Love without disclosure.

Integrity without recognition.
Courage without certainty.
Faithfulness without guarantee.

 

(COMING IN SEPTEMBER)

Discovery without completeness.
Truth without certainty.
Faith without proof.

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AND COMING SOON:

Book Four in

~ THE CAIN FAMILY CHRONICLES ~

GRACE RISING

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Reading you can safely gift and recommend to others.

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THIS FROM a recent Zoom BookClub discussion about The Permission:

Thank you!!!! My friends loved having you there tonight (on Zoom) and were genuinely excited to hear your stories and ask questions about the books. You’re the best! 

—Robin’s BookClub

Ward schedules a limited number of Zoom BookClubs each year. If your club members are interested in meeting with the author of The Cain Family Chronicles, contact ward@wardtanneberg.com

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