There is a conversation underway in the Dutch Reformed Church that deserves careful attention — not with impatience, but with the kind of considered discernment that the Reformed tradition has always demanded of us. The question of artificial intelligence in sermon preparation has appeared recently on the pages of Kerkbode and Netwerk24, and theologians of substance have weighed in.
It is a legitimate conversation. The church has always wrestled with new tools — from the printing press to the microphone, from the internet to the search engine. And every time, the question has been the same: does this instrument serve the Word, or does it displace the Spirit? That is the right question. But we need to make sure we are answering it correctly.
The concerns are understandable
Rev Lerisa Meyer put it well in the Kerkbode conversation of February 2026: "I still believe that our first place of preparation must be a personal encounter with God. Sermons must flow from a heart filled with the Spirit." This sentiment is not wrong. It is, in fact, the heart of every serious theology of preaching.
Prof Cas Wepener of Stellenbosch rightly cautioned that a sermon is not merely an information talk, but a word for a specific congregation on a specific Sunday — delivered by a pastor who lives and ministers within the reality of that particular community. Prof Ernst Conradie of UWC added that AI often displays "high confidence despite shallow source references." These are honest and necessary correctives.
And yet — if we are honest — these warnings do not apply specifically to AI. They apply to any form of lazy, impersonal, spiritless sermon preparation. The question is not whether the tool can be dangerous. Everything can be dangerous in the wrong hands. The question is: what does a responsible, Spirit-filled preacher do with the tools at their disposal?
An analogy that brings clarity
Consider the following scenario: a pastor sits before the text on a Monday morning. She has already spent time in silence before the Lord. The Spirit has begun to form a word in her heart. Now the research begins.
She opens a commentary — perhaps Calvin's Institutes, perhaps a contemporary New Testament commentary, perhaps an article on an academic website. She reads a sermon outline online. She consults a Greek lexicon. She searches for other sermons on the same text to see how colleagues have approached it — not to steal, but to sharpen her own thinking.
No one would argue that this pastor has replaced the Spirit with Google. The consultation of sources is not a replacement of the preaching process — it is part of the responsible preparation for it.
AI is precisely this: a consultation instrument. It is a remarkably well-read, rapidly-responsive conversation partner that has access to centuries of theology, exegesis, and pastoral wisdom — but which has no heart, no congregation, and no indwelling of the Holy Spirit. That is all it is. And that is enough to make it genuinely valuable without posing any threat to the calling of the preacher.
The preacher still writes the sermon
This is a point that is often lost in the public debate: AI does not replace the preacher. The pastor must still:
- Sit in silence before the text and listen for what the Spirit is saying.
- Know and love the congregation — know who sits in the third pew, who has suffered loss, who is struggling.
- Exercise theological discernment: every source — book, article, or AI — must pass through the filter of Scripture-faithful theology.
- Write the sermon itself — in their own voice, from their own prayers, for their own congregation.
- Stand in the pulpit as a witness — not as a reader of AI output.
A pastor who skips all of these steps and simply reads out an AI-generated sermon has committed a serious pastoral and ethical error. But this is not an argument against AI — it is an argument against laziness and spiritual emptiness, which are possible with or without AI.
The church and new tools: a historical perspective
It is worth remembering that the printing press in the fifteenth century was also met with suspicion. The possibility that unorthodox teaching could now spread rapidly gave serious theologians pause. And yet the Reformation would be unthinkable without Gutenberg. Luther's 95 Theses spread across Europe in weeks — not despite the new technology, but through it.
Dr Simon Jooste of the Reformed Church Southern Suburbs put it memorably at the Stellenbosch symposium of February 2026: neither "utopian hope" nor "apocalyptic fear" constitutes an adequate theological response to AI. The Reformed tradition, with its high regard for common grace — the idea that God distributes gifts and abilities outside the church for the benefit of humanity — provides precisely the theological framework for embracing new tools with discernment, without either idolising or demonising them.
The key: discernment, not prohibition
The question the church must ask, therefore, is not "Should we use AI?" as though it were a simple yes-or-no choice. The question is: How do we use AI in a way that honours Scripture, serves the congregation, and protects the preacher's own spiritual integrity?
This is a conversation about use, not about principle. And it is a conversation the church is well equipped to have — precisely because we have a tradition of serious discernment, Scripture-bound thinking, and pastoral wisdom.
A closing word
Rev Lerisa Meyer herself left the door open:
"I am not opposed to the use of AI for sermon preparation. When I have spent time with the Lord in personal devotion and silence, I have no concern about then using AI as a tool."
— Rev Lerisa Meyer, Kerkbode, February 2026
That is wise. That is pastoral. And that is the correct order: first the quiet encounter with God; then the use of tools — whatever tools help the preacher understand the text more deeply and serve the congregation more faithfully.
The Spirit uses people. People use tools. The tools must serve the people — not replace them. If we keep this in mind, we already have all the principles we need to engage artificial intelligence wisely and freely, to the glory of God and the service of his church.