A few weeks ago, my wife forwarded me a Washington Post article (gift link) about rabbis struggling to keep up with today’s demands. While some examples were specific to their tradition, the pressure points described sounded strikingly familiar to United Methodist clergy:
- Preaching while juggling endless administration (meetings, emails, and scheduling)
- Managing technology shifts, church communications and social media alone
- Stretching limited budgets and overseeing finances
- Guiding communities through crises and grief
- Coordinating education and programs with fewer resources
- Speaking into social and political tensions, sometimes at personal cost
The article argued that rabbis are being asked to carry far more than clergy once did, leaving them vulnerable to burnout, especially around high-pressure times like religious holidays. One proposed solution was to use AI tools to help with sermon preparation and structure, reclaiming time and energy for pastoral care, presence, and rest.
That advice mirrors what some have shared with pastors in our own connection and aligns with what some are already doing—using AI to brainstorm sermon series, generate images, or lighten the load of administrative work.
At nearly the same time, Wespath released the results of a survey of 1,500 active United Methodist clergy. It confirmed what many already feel: pastors carry high stress across every dimension of health—physical, emotional, spiritual, social, and financial. Like the rabbis in the Post article, our clergy are experiencing overextension and role overload. The study recommends both institutional and personal strategies to reduce non-essential burdens and strengthen support systems, reminding us that long-term vitality requires intentional care for clergy health and resilience.
Here’s where AI fits in. It is not a cure-all, and AI comes with ethical questions about voice, confidentiality, environmental impact, and the temptation to take shortcuts. However, it can be one tool that can help make ministry more sustainable. What it cannot do is correct the deeper institutional issues that make clergy wellness such a challenge.
That brings us to harder questions. Can we honestly address clergy well-being without being more strategic about decline? Some pastors benefit from serving on staff teams; others are the only paid staff in their congregation. Tools like AI may help both, but the expectations and outcomes are not equal.
Could we invest less in launching brand-new ministries and more in strengthening pastoral teams in churches where timely intervention might still matter? Could we encourage more mergers, like the ones celebrated at our last annual conference, in communities where multiple United Methodist (or compatible mainline) congregations already exist?
I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I do know the status quo is not sustainable. Clergy wellness—and the vitality of our churches—will require both creative tools and courageous institutional change.
So, I’d love to hear your thoughts. How are you using AI in ministry? If you are not, what ethical or technical barriers keep you from trying? Do you see or experience pastoral ministry as overburdened today? Most importantly, what personal and institutional changes could reduce burnout and empower our congregations to be Christ’s presence in their communities?
Leave a comment below or send me an email at pscriven@pnwumc.org.
Hi Patrick,
Thank you for a very interesting article. One thing that keeps me from looking into AI tools is (at my age) investing enough time to become proficient in the tools. Maybe I should take a week off and just dive in! But I know most of my colleagues serving local churches don’t have that luxury of time.
That’s an excellent point, Kathy. Tools are continually becoming more accessible and easier to use but most require at least some investment on the front end. Some are really intuitive (like Grammarly) and others are relatively simple (like ChatGPT) but grow in their utility with use and knowledge. This is a place where collaboration with colleagues could be a real gift.
I have tried AI for newsletter articles and find the language stillted and stiff. Obviously AI. I have to spend as much time rewriting the article as I would smply writing one from scratch. I sometimes use it for sermon research and that is OK. It does generate great images with the right input. But I don’t like using that much energy for one or two images.
Thanks for sharing your experiences, Carolyn. Many others have had similar ones and I would agree that content can sometimes feel like it lacks soul. Others have expressed that they can get good results but it does require significant partnership with AI in the creative process.