By Rev. Dr. Troy Lynn Carr
The Commission on Ethnic Ministries (COEM) hosted a virtual seminar focused on the practical applications and potential challenges of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a partner in ministry. The seminar, which attracted over twenty participants, was designed and led by Dr. Corey Frazier, a consultant with TechQuity Consulting, LLC, and Intel Corporation.
Dr. Frazier, “who has nearly 20 years of experience in technical and organizational leadership, technology equity, startup coaching, and tech innovation, engaged participants in an interactive session that blended theory with demonstrations.” His background includes leading technical teams on significant projects such as the Aurora Supercomputer, developing trajectory data for the Space Shuttle over 13 successful missions, and working in Intel Corporation’s PC Business Education department.
Faithful stewardship was the theme, emphasizing the ethical use of AI to enhance a minister’s ability to serve more intentionally. The core message highlighted how AI can help ministers become more productive and free up time for essential community and pastoral duties that are often time-consuming.
During the session, practical demonstrations showcased concrete ways AI can be utilized in the ministry. Examples included using translation tools, creating newsletters, and other AI resources for administrative tasks. Dr. Frazier informed the ethnic ministers that AI can be biased towards dominant cultures. He emphasized the importance of BIPOC communities engaging with AI platforms, as the way we formulate questions and provide information shapes the AI’s capabilities to respond in more diverse ways.
The seminar also addressed common myths and truths about AI in a ministry context. Myths challenged included the notions that AI is “unspiritual,” can lead to a loss of spiritual growth or shallow theology, risks plagiarism, or causes disconnection from the congregation. These were countered by truths asserting that ethical AI use can indeed reflect faithful stewardship and that AI can serve as a research assistant and thought partner. Emphasis was placed on the need for preachers to infuse their own voice into AI outputs and to provide AI-generated documents with the specific needs and experiences of their community.
A significant recommendation emerged from the seminar: Dr. Frazier encouraged the COEM to establish an AI ethics council. This council would be responsible for developing guidelines to help ministers use AI responsibly.
Rev. Dr. Troy Lynn Carr serves as chairperson for the Commission on Ethnic Ministries for the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference of The Untied Methodist Church. She also is currently the pastor of Gresham United Methodist Church in the Oregon-Idaho Conference.
To assist the writing process, these Grammarly AI prompts were used:
Prompts created by Grammarly- "Please provide me with ideas for improvement."
