The Brentwood Statement Is the AI Guidance Pastors Needed
TL;DR: The Brentwood Statement provides necessary, biblically-grounded wisdom for using AI as a ministry tool, rightly warning against replacing human pastors and prioritizing theological integrity over technological novelty.
Finally. Some clear, thoughtful, and biblically-grounded guidance on artificial intelligence from a major group of church leaders. For the past few years, as I've worked on FaithGPT and led my small group, I've watched pastors and ministry leaders wrestle with AI mostly on their own. The conversation was often polarized: either total rejection or uncritical adoption. We needed guardrails.
This week, we got them. A group of Southern Baptist leaders, in partnership with Lifeway Research, released the Brentwood Statement on AI and the Church. This isn't just another tech opinion piece. It's a formal set of affirmations and denials designed to help churches think through AI's role in ministry, and I believe it strikes exactly the right balance between caution and curiosity.
What is the Brentwood Statement?
The statement comes in response to Lifeway Research findings that show pastors are already using AI for ministry tasks. It was crafted by a group that includes leaders from the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), various seminaries, and other Southern Baptist Convention entities.
Their goal wasn't to ban AI, but to build a theological framework around it. The statement affirms that God is the sole creator, that Scripture is the ultimate authority, and that the local church holds a central place in God's plan. Crucially, it denies that AI can fulfill the roles of pastor, preacher, or spiritual counselor. Human relationships and embodiment are non-negotiable in ministry.
As someone building AI tools for Christians, this is the message I've been championing from day one. AI is a powerful tool, but it is not a pastor. It is not a disciple-maker. It is not the Holy Spirit. The statement makes this distinction with welcome clarity.
Key principles for wise use
The statement lays out several principles that I find incredibly helpful. It encourages using AI for tasks that support, rather than supplant, human ministry. I've summarized a few of the core tensions the statement addresses in this table:
Area of Ministry · Wise Use (Supported by the Statement) · Unwise Use (Warned Against by the Statement)
Sermon Prep · Brainstorming illustrations, checking grammar, researching historical context. · Generating the entire sermon manuscript and preaching it verbatim.
Discipleship · Creating discussion questions for a small group leader to review and personalize. · Using an AI chatbot as a substitute for a human mentor or discipleship relationship.
Counseling · Providing information or resources for a pastor to use in a counseling session. · Deploying an AI to provide spiritual or psychological counsel directly to a person.
Administration · Automating scheduling, managing communications, and organizing event logistics. · Replacing the relational work of elders and deacons with automated systems.
These distinctions are vital. The common thread is human agency and spiritual authority. AI can be a great assistant, but it can never be the authorized agent. This aligns perfectly with the need for a clear, biblical framework for church AI adoption, something we've been writing about for a while. You can read more about what that looks like in our post, Should Churches Use AI? A Biblical Framework.
The strongest objection
Of course, not everyone will welcome this guidance. The strongest counter-argument I hear goes something like this: “This is just fear. The church is always slow to adopt new technology, and by creating all these rules, you’re just ensuring we fall behind the culture.”
I understand the concern. No one wants the church to seem irrelevant. But this objection misunderstands the nature of the Brentwood Statement. This isn't a rejection of technology; it's a call to steward it wisely. The statement doesn’t say, “Don’t use AI.” It says, “Use AI in a way that honors God and serves people well.”
This isn't about fear; it's about faithfulness. It's about recognizing that the methods of ministry are not neutral. The how matters just as much as the what. Preaching is not just information transfer; it is the proclamation of God’s Word by a Spirit-filled person to a specific group of people. Discipleship is not a curriculum; it’s life-on-life investment. When we talk about developing our own AI ethics framework from a Christian perspective, these are the core truths we build upon.
The statement rightly encourages Christians to explore AI for tasks like streamlining church administration and management, freeing up pastors and volunteers for the relational work that only humans can do. This isn't about falling behind; it's about moving forward with wisdom.
Putting it into practice
So what does this look like for me, as I prepare to lead my small group this week? I might use an AI tool to help me brainstorm questions about our passage in Romans. I could ask it, “What are some common misunderstandings of Romans 8?” The AI can give me a good starting list.
But my work doesn't end there. I must then take that list, measure it against Scripture, pray over it, and consider the specific people in my group. Who is struggling with assurance? Who is new to the faith? My pastoral knowledge, informed by the Holy Spirit, is the irreplaceable element. The AI is just a research assistant.
That's the proper place for these tools. They can serve us, but they must never lead us. They are a means, not the end. The goal is not efficiency for its own sake, but deeper, more faithful engagement with God and His people. This is exactly why we're building tools at FaithGPT—to act as a companion for your own study and prayer, helping you go deeper into God's Word yourself.
Ultimately, the Brentwood Statement is a call for order and discernment in an area that has been chaotic. It reflects the biblical mandate for sound leadership.
Let all things be done decently and in order.
1 Corinthians 14:40 (KJV)
This isn't about putting technology in a box. It's about making sure it stays in its proper place as a servant to the church, not its master. Leaders have a responsibility to teach their people how to engage with new things faithfully, and that requires a new focus on AI and Christian leadership development.
The guidance has been given, and it is good.
The future of the church is Spirit-led, not silicon-driven.
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