How We Actually Create (Writing, Speaking, and AI)

“If I think about it, I lose it—but if I hit record,
it comes out better than anything I could’ve written.”

This conversation with my friend Rev. Dr. Lawrence Richardson turned into something I didn’t quite expect—it became a kind of live exploration of how ideas actually take shape. Not just what we think, but how we get there. Writing vs. speaking. Drafting vs. discovering. Whether creativity is something we construct carefully or stumble into by hitting “record” and seeing what happens.

Along the way, we found ourselves deep in questions about AI, digital ministry, and what it means to create in a world where tools can now think alongside us. Lawrence is building chatbots for churches—not to replace human wisdom, but to extend it—and that opened up a bigger question: how do we use these tools without losing the very thing that makes our work human? Maybe the answer isn’t to resist or fully embrace, but to experiment—treating our own lives as the laboratory, learning in public, and trusting that clarity comes not before we begin, but because we do.

Looking for more episodes of Digital Ministry Friends? Here you go!

• Fr. Cathie Caimano

• Rev. Natalie Owens-Pike

• Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow

• Rev. Bethany Peerbolte