The Tale of Two Pastors

Can New Technologies Empower Greater Ministry? Phil Knows. Doug Needs to Know

I wrote this with my colleagues in mind, but I think everyone reading The Anglican would love to know about how AI can help church pastors do their work.

---

Previously on Faithful Innovations

In Part 1 of A Tale of Two Pastors: Doug and Phil, we explored how technology has transformed ministry over the past 50 years and introduced two faithful pastors with vastly different approaches to their work.

Though deeply committed, Doug finds himself buried under administrative tasks and outdated methods, while Phil leverages modern tools to focus on what matters most: people.

(Get it? Doug has ‘dug’ himself a hole. Phil has ‘filled’ his life. You’re welcome.)

In the day-by-day comparison, Phil has the more sustainable plan. And Doug's character is overdrawn, but I am trying to make a point. AI can be a great servant. And Doug needs our prayers.

In this second installment, we’ll walk through a typical week in their lives, day by day, to see how AI and other innovative tools can reshape pastoral ministry.

A Week in the Life of Doug and Phil

Monday: Planning the Week

Doug starts Monday with a blank notebook, jotting down tasks as they come to mind. He spends hours sorting through emails, manually updating his calendar, and compiling notes from last week’s meetings. In the afternoon, he starts his sermon prep by pulling commentaries and concordances off the shelf. By mid-afternoon, he’s exhausted but still hasn’t finalized his weekly to-do list. His evening will be consumed by replying to emails he missed earlier.

Phil opens Notion (or Reflect), an AI-powered organizational platform. His dashboard already lists priorities pulled from his email and calendar: sermon prep, pastoral care, and admin work. AI summarizers like Otter.ai extract key action points from last week’s vestry meeting. Logos Bible Software suggests cross-references, historical contexts, and thematic insights for sermon prep. By lunchtime, Phil has mapped out his week and drafted a sermon outline, leaving his afternoon free for pastoral visits.

Doug: Doug is trying to visit Thelma, an early member of the church. He calls Thelma and asks to postpone the visit they had scheduled. She’s not going anywhere, he reasons. She’s a shut-in and can’t get to church. He tells her Tuesday is better. He mentions he has a book for her from the church library. He’ll bring it.

---

Tuesday: Staff Meetings and Leadership Development

Doug spends the morning flipping through last week’s meeting notes, piecing together an agenda. During the meeting, he jots notes on paper, hoping to remember key points later. Afterward, he spends hours organizing notes and planning follow-ups, leaving little time for pastoral visits.

Phil runs the meeting over with AI transcription. The transcript highlights key action items and automatically assigns tasks using Fellow.app, which integrates AI for task management. Reviewing staff performance, Phil uses BambooHR’s AI analytics to spot areas for growth. By the afternoon, he’s meeting with a congregant over coffee.

Doug calls Thelma again. He wonders where the time has gone. He suggests they meet the next day, Wednesday. She’s agreeable and sweet about it. “Oh, pastor, I’ve got nothing but time. See you tomorrow.” Doug feels terrible about it, but she’s right; she has nothing but time. Thelma asks him about the book he had forgotten he promised her. He makes a note on his palm with his Bic pen. He write: “Book to Thelma!!!!”

---

Wednesday: Pastoral Counseling and Personal Study

Doug meets with a couple preparing for marriage. He pulls out a generic questionnaire he made years ago. The session is helpful but lacks depth. In the afternoon, Doug carves out time for study but is interrupted by phone calls and admin work. He ends the day spiritually drained.

Phil has been using YesChat, an AI-driven assessment tool, to counsel the engaged couple. The software analyzes their relationship dynamics, offering tailored insights. They bring the transcipt of their chat session in for review. Phil has a real-time sense of how they get along. Helpful.

Later, Phil listens to the day’s lectionary readings on the Dwell Bible App which uses AI to curate personalized playlists. He uses Reflectly, an AI-powered journaling app, to process his thoughts and prayers. By the afternoon, he’s refreshed and ready for focused study and prayer.

Doug forgets the book! Darn! On his way to see Thelma, he realizes he forgot the book she’d asked him to bring from the church library. He calls her to reschedule and promises to get the book to her on Thursday. He washed his hands for supper that night and forgot about it. This time, he puts a post-it note on his rear-view mirror.

---

Thursday: Outreach and Evangelism

Doug designs flyers for an upcoming event using a basic word processor. His final version contains some clip art he found on last week's church bulletin board. He also has a grainy photo from last year’s VBS he is using. He likes it because his daughter is in the image. No wait. The photo is three years old. She’s in Jr. High now. Oh well, who will notice? He spends hours distributing them and posting them on social media. The process is time-consuming, and the reach is limited.

Phil uses Meta Ads Manager to launch a targeted ad campaign, ensuring the event reaches the right audience. Canva’s AI design assistant creates professional graphics instantly. He also uses Lumen5, an AI video creation tool, to produce engaging promotional content. By the afternoon, Phil has reached thousands of potential attendees—and still has time for a hospital visit.

Doug calls Thelma to tell her he mailed the book to her apartment. Postpones the visit, again. She is so sweet about his struggles to find time to visit her. He must be very busy, she concludes.

---

Friday: Administrative and Financial Planning

Doug spends all morning manually updating the church budget. He and his board are tracking giving trends in spreadsheets. It’s tedious, and he misses patterns in the data. Doug keeps attendance by the number of checks in the offering plates. One check equals about 2.3 people, he guesses. In the last year, he began adding to the total the number of checks the church received in the mail during the week. After all, they wanted to be in church. Last month, his report to the Vestry boasted an average Sunday attendance of 173.7 people. The Vestry were speechless.

Phil takes Friday’s as a day off. But, he knows the church treasurer is using QuickBooks AI to analyze financial trends. Recently, Tithe.ly’s analytics flagged a dip in online giving. The text from the treasurer prompted Phil to think about a stewardship message, but that is for another day. The text drops into his online, cloud-based app called Things and waits for Phil to turn on his cell phone on Saturday. Friday is date night with this wife, too!

Doug forgets to call Thelma…

---

Saturday: Preparing for Sunday Worship

Doug spends the day finalizing his sermon, organizing the schedule, and scrambling to find volunteers. He hasn’t had time to think of any good sermon illustrations, so he scans his copy of 6,000 Sermon Illustrations: An Omnibus of Classic Sermon Illustrations. Nothing seems pertinent, and they all seem dated. Who is Lord Bryon, he wonders. He picks up his prized copy of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. He’ll find something there. He always does.

He is preaching on Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock…”

Phil finalizes his sermon using Sermonary, which suggests relevant illustrations and checks for narrative flow. He also uses ChatGPT to brainstorm creative applications and Proclaim Church Presentation Software to prepare dynamic worship slides. Planning Center’s ensures all volunteers confirm their roles. By dinnertime, Phil is relaxed with his family.

Doug works late and finally gets in his car to run through In-N-Out Burger. He has a hankering for a Double-Double. He sees the Post-it note on his rearview mirror. Darn!

He takes a detour to drive over to Thelma’s. He doesn’t have the nerve to call; he will drive by and knock on her door. She’s got nothing but time, he says. She is a shut-in.

He arrives as the sun is setting and meekly approaches the door. He knocks. He knocks again. Then, hearing the pastor’s knock, a neighbor pops her head out of her apartment door and tells Doug that Thelma went to see a movie with a friend.

She’s a shut-in! Doug heads home. But he has one heck of a sermon illustration.

---

Sunday: Worship and Connection

Doug arrives early, double-checking every detail and stepping in to fill gaps. He put some final touches on his sermon this morning, a few marginal notes to emphasize his closing illustration. He is tired. Frazzled too.

Phil uses Breeze Church Management Software to review attendance patterns, identifying members who may need follow-up. He uses Pulse, an AI tool, to evaluate last week’s sermon by analyzing congregant feedback and engagement metrics. During coffee hour, he connects meaningfully with visitors and longtime members alike. By evening, he reflects on a fulfilling week.

Doug’s sermon was passable, he thinks. He’s not sure. He used the sermon illustration well, he thinks. It was a little merciless. Honestly, he knows it backfired.

He said, Sometimes Jesus is knocking, and you're not answering. Why? Because you're at a movie with a friend, even though you say you have nothing but time. So, when the pastor, I mean Jesus, comes and knocks, where are you? Where are you?

He notices someone standing up in the back row of the church. The person stands and walks out the door… upset. It is Thelma.

---

Conclusion

I hope you have enjoyed following the life and ministry of these two men. My heart goes out to Doug, as I am sure yours also did. Doug and Phil are both faithful pastors. Doug’s struggle isn’t a lack of dedication—it’s the weight of outdated methods and administrative overload. Phil, on the other hand, has embraced AI tools to streamline his workflow, freeing him to focus on what matters most: people.

As Phil often says, “AI isn’t a replacement for faith or relationships—it’s a tool to help me steward my calling more effectively.”

Epilogue

After storming out of church, Doug assumes he’s ruined the relationship. But on Monday morning, he gets a voicemail from Thelma:

“Pastor, I know you didn’t mean it that way. I wasn’t mad—I was laughing. You just got me thinking… Maybe Jesus has been knocking, and I’ve been ignoring Him, too. Anyway, the movie was great. Call me when you have time, okay? No rush… I’ve got nothing but time.”

Doug exhales, shakes his head, and scribbles “Visit Thelma TODAY” on a sticky note—this time, he actually does it.

Let’s Go Shopping!

Here is a list of tools, some of which I have on my MacBook. As I mentioned in one of my first posts, I do not understand AI well enough to be a programmer or an engineer. But I know what it can do and what it promises to enable pastors to do.

Please put the tools you know about in the Comments.

Some AI Tools for Ministry

Graphics and Design

• Canva: Uses AI for design suggestions, templates, and image editing.

• Lumen5: AI-powered video creation tool that turns text into engaging videos.

• Adobe Firefly: Generative AI for creating custom visuals and designs.

Pastoral Counseling

• Yeschat.ai: AI-driven relationship assessment for premarital and marital counseling.

• Woebot: An AI chatbot for mental health support and counseling resources.

• BetterHelp: While not exclusively AI, it uses algorithms to match clients with counselors.

Journaling and Reflection

• Reflectly: AI-powered journaling app with prompts for personal reflection.

• Day One: Uses AI to analyze journal entries and suggest prompts or themes.

• My.Rosebud: Uses AI for personal journalling and personal growth.

Bible Study Development

• Logos Bible Software: AI-driven insights for sermon prep, Bible study, and cross-referencing.

• Church.Tech: AI-assisted sermon writing and discipleship materials, including illustration suggestions.

• Sermon.ai: Uses AI to craft powerful sermons that bring biblical truth to life.

Sermon Evaluation

• Pulse: AI tool for analyzing congregant feedback and engagement metrics.

• Otter.ai: AI-powered transcription for reviewing sermon delivery and content.

Administrative Tools

• Calendly: Uses AI to optimize scheduling and eliminate back-and-forth emails.

• Podium: AI-powered church communication platform for text messaging and follow-ups.

• Airtable: AI-enhanced project management for church events and workflows.

• Notion: AI-powered organizational platform for task management and note-taking.

• Reflect.ai: AI-powered note-taking, writing, and rewriting all in one place. My favorite tool in the realm of PKM (Personal Knowledge Management).

Outreach and Evangelism

• Meta Ads Manager: AI-driven ad targeting for church events and outreach campaigns.

• ChatGPT: AI writing assistant for creating social media posts, emails, and event descriptions.

• HubSpot: Uses AI for marketing automation and membership segmentation.

Financial Planning

• QuickBooks AI: Analyzes financial trends and provides insights for budgeting.

• Tithe.ly: AI-driven analytics for tracking giving patterns and stewardship campaigns.

Volunteer and Worship Planning

• Planning Center: AI features for volunteer scheduling and role confirmations.

• Proclaim Church Presentation Software: AI-assisted tools for creating dynamic worship slides. (I don’t know if this is AI enhanced.)

Non-AI Tools with Helpful Features

Some tools I initially mentioned, like Zoom or Breeze Church Management Software, aren’t exclusively AI-driven but incorporate AI features (e.g., Zoom’s transcription and Breeze’s analytics).

Next Up: What are the ethical issues around AI?