I had the joy of joining with Jordan Michalski, pastor at Soul Sanctuary in Winnipeg, to talk about the question “Why Do We Preach?” Jordan, who is one of my former students, is in the midst of leading his congregation through a series of sermons reflecting upon what they do when they gather as God’s people to worship.
I decided to do a little experiment to get a handle on the state of contemporary AI. Since I’m preaching on the call of Abram in Genesis 12:1-9 this Sunday, I thought I’d ask ChatGPT to generate some sermons on this biblical text in the style of several prominent preachers and theologians. See if you can guess who ChatGPT thinks it is imitating in the following sermons. Feel free to leave your comments in the chat and share with others you think might be interested. I’ll reveal the pseudo-identities of the “preachers” in upcoming posts, as well as share a few observations about where ChatGPT goes wrong.
Continue reading Some Fun with ChatGPTThe month of May has flown by. On May 7, I had the privilege of preaching at Kleefeld Christian Community, which is pastored by my former colleague Ed Neufeld. Two weeks later, on May 21, I returned to Grace Bible Church in Winnipeg to preach on the Ascension. This coming weekend I am the speaker for Kleefeld Evangelical Mennonite Church’s Family Camp. I will giving a series of talks entitled, “Immersed in the Mystery of God” that will be engaging with the Apostles’ Creed.
On the academic front, I recently delivered a paper entitled, “Re-imagining Ethical Preaching” at the Canadian American Theological Association annual meeting in Toronto, where I was also elected Vice President for the coming year. I also attended the first two days of the Canadian Theological Society meetings. Being back in Toronto for a few days also allowed me to catch up with some old friends.
It’s been a busy month, but it I am thankful to be in good health and to have good work to do.
An arresting passage from Fritz Bauerschmidt’s sermon for the Baptism of the Lord entitled, “Hope for Everything,” found in his book How Beautiful the World Could Be: Christian Reflections on the Everyday. Continue reading Living within the Mystery of God
I preached on Trinity Sunday (June 12) at Prairie Presbyterian Church in Winnipeg, MB. Below is the text of my sermon on the lectionary texts: Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Psalm 8; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15. Continue reading A Sermon for Trinity Sunday
