Dr. BJ Condrey

AI is changing the world at breakneck speed. It is reshaping the workplace, redefining what jobs are necessary, and even creating entirely new fields of work. And while the disruption is real—sometimes exciting, sometimes frightening—there is one area where AI will never take over: the ministry of a human pastor in the local church.

Why? Because ministry is not just about information or efficiency.

Ministry is about presence.

It’s about entering into the deepest human experiences—suffering, loss, joy, hope, and despair—and standing there with others in the name of Christ.

No matter how advanced it becomes, AI cannot do that.

• It cannot pray (it can mimic words, but without a soul, it cannot commune with God).
• It can’t suffer.
• It can’t cry.
• It has never loved and lost.
• It has never contemplated death from a personal vantage point.
• It has never been tempted to believe that suicide might be the better option.
• It has never stood over a casket and mourned the loss of someone woven into its history.
• It has never grappled with infertility.
• It has never worried about how to pay the bills.
• It has never applied for a job.
• It has never had a dream shattered beyond repair.
• It has never been rejected.
• It has never been divorced, left to pick up the pieces.

And the list could go on.

Regarding generative AI specifically, it can mimic words, but it cannot embody them. It can simulate empathy, but it cannot actually feel. It can draft a sermon, but it cannot walk through the valley of the shadow of death with a grieving family.

So while AI may revolutionize our offices, our classrooms, and even parts of our churches, it will never replace the pastor who prays with the sick, mourns with the brokenhearted, crafts sermons as a fellow sojourner, and rejoices with those who rejoice.

The local minister is not just a job—it is a calling. A calling that demands flesh, blood, tears, and hope. A calling that only a human being can fulfill.