Using AI for Spiritual Development

I have a love-hate relationship with technology. On one hand, there’s a part of me that longs for the simplicity of pen and paper, typewriters, and handwritten letters. But on the other hand, I’m a full-fledged digital enthusiast—my life practically revolves around screens and e-ink devices. 

Even so, I find Artificial Intelligence to be a fascinating and, at times, unsettling frontier. It conjures images of The Matrix or Skynet, or it’s viewed as a shadowy force working against Christians and our Savior. But AI can also be seen as a tool for good, freeing us from monotonous tasks and helping us focus on what truly matters. Whatever your perspective, the reality is that AI is already woven into our daily lives. Every time you check Netflix’s “Watch Next” list, hit shuffle on your favorite music app, or scroll through social media, you’re interacting with AI. 

So, here’s the question: how can we use AI to support our discipleship journey? 

One way is to let it help us create a spiritual development plan for the New Year. 

This week, I used ChatGPT to craft a spiritual development plan for myself. If you’re curious, you can view that plan below. While I’ll need to tailor it—since I’ve already read many of the suggested books—it’s a solid starting point: detailed, thoughtful, and practical. 

If you’re open to trying this, I highly recommend it. At the very least, AI can help you draft a personalized plan that you can refine and make your own. If you’re interested, I’d be happy to coach you on how to get started and write effective prompts to generate your plan. 

If AI isn’t your thing, no problem—grab a pen and paper instead. Start by deciding on a Bible reading plan for the year, identifying specific books of the Bible you’d like to study, and setting a few challenges to push yourself spiritually. I’m here to help with that too, so don’t hesitate to reach out.