Artificial Intelligence has been in the news a lot over the last month, after a tweet by an industry insider a couple of weeks ago said, “The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade.” If you’ve been considering the impact of AI on culture and ministry, please plan to come to an all-day in-person workshop at our Synod Assembly on October 30 in Adrian, OH. You may remember that we received a $94,000 grant from the OpenAI Foundation to study the...

Colleagues and Siblings in Christ, I am always so pleased when a congregation invites me to take part in an anniversary celebration. Having the opportunity to represent our 625 churches across eleven presbyteries is such a joy! Whether I’m preaching, praying, celebrating communion, or bringing greetings, I wish that I could attend all those to which you invite me. In this column, I’m eager to tell you about the 150th Anniversary of First Presbyterian Church of Petoskey, MI (Mackinac...

Colleagues and Siblings in Christ, You may remember that I had a total knee replacement on July 13. July 30 was my first post-operation check-up with the surgeon’s team. The good news is that the Physician’s Assistant said that the x-rays were “textbook” and that my flexibility was about a month ahead of schedule. The bad news is that the intensity of my pain is unlikely to subside soon and that it will most likely be 2 to 4 more weeks before she would recommend beginning to taper off on my...