AI tried to write this blog. Here’s what happened.

I have been looking into AI quite a bit recently.  Mostly for my day job, but also for my own curiosity.  The company I work for provides a fair bit of training and information about AI uses, but we’re also encouraged to find new ways of utilizing this tool in our day-to-day jobs.  While that information and skill set is helpful to develop in our current economy, my personal curiosity has been more focused on how we, as a society, will cope with the massive disruptions that are (honestly) just over the next horizon.

A common use of AI today is to get help creating written content.  Anywhere in the writing process can be assisted by AI tools – whether you’re simply brainstorming ideas, looking for feedback on a final product, or anywhere in between.  I’ve been aware of these capabilities for some time, but I’ve resisted checking into AI’s ability to completely write up a blog post.  To be honest, my avoidance has been more of a pride thing than anything else…I believe I do a decent job on my own with writing.  This has been a reliable skill for me since the time we started writing three-paragraph essays in junior high school.  To give you just one example, for a season of my career, I actually taught technical writing for laboratory investigations to chemists and Quality Control management.  While others may rejoice in getting help with their writing tasks, I’ve been feeling a little threatened.  So, I’ve actively avoided exploring AI’s capabilities here.

Until last Wednesday, anyway.  I decided that I would finally take a look at what I’m up against.  I’ve used an AI model called Perplexity for a little less than a year, primarily as a search engine.  It’s not been perfect, but on the whole, it does a good job.  So, last Wednesday, I asked it the following prompt:

Write a blog post in the voice of the author in http://www.trustingson.com/the-word. It should be no more than 600 words. The topic is from Ruth 4, the generational impact of Ruth and Boaz's actions on their subsequent family line.

Now, I had preached on this chapter for my church back in May but I have not written a blog on this topic, so I was curious how close it would come to getting the topic right, but also how well it could do writing as if it were me. 

The result?  To be honest, what came out (in about 30 seconds) wasn't too far off.  I'd give it an 80% score...which is pretty scary.  There are a handful of “rules” that I go by when I write a blog, and the AI didn’t follow all of them.  But I could have easily asked it to refine the post by these additional parameters to achieve a final product that sounded even closer to my style of writing. 

I then showed the AI draft to my wife, with my head hung a little as she read through the text.  Although she was insistent that what she read "wasn't me" – I still felt like I had been kicked in the teeth.  Something that I’d always considered a strength was now easily produced with no real effort.  I then turned my attention to finishing up last Thursday’s blog My dog hates to wait.  So do I.  And I felt lousy about the AI situation for the whole next day.

And then, on Friday morning…God sent someone to rip me out of my funk.  Greg, who was also mentored by Joe Rheney and has been receiving THE WORD emails since way back when Joe was writing them, decided to drop me a message.  Here’s part of what he said:

Among the many things Joe helped us to grow in, was discovering and using our spiritual gifts. Mine is that of an encourager and comforter. I encourage you to continue your ministry with the same passion you started with and to finish with the goal and prize of hearing the words “Well done, good and faithful servant”. I personally value what you share in the pursuit reaching the finish line. Your insights, explanations, inspirations, and interpretations are an outward expression of your love and devotion to our Lord and Savior, Jesus.

I…I was stunned.  I didn’t know what to say or how to quell the multitude of emotions that started to swirl in my mind and through my chest.  God saw my funk of an attitude and prompted Greg to send me a note of encouragement.  God saw me.  And he sent help.

Throughout the New Testament, believers are often told to encourage one another.  Here are just two examples:

Hebrews 10:24-25
And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day (of Christ’s return) approaching.

1 Thessalonians 5:11
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up as you are already doing.

Thank you, Greg.  Thank you for using your gifts to support the body of Christ – even though you had no idea how much I needed it.  Thank you for listening to God’s prompt to use His gift in your life.

For everyone else, please follow Greg’s example and use your gifts to build up those around you.  Despite whatever technological advancements come next, we are still to consider one another in order to provoke love and good works…encouraging each other because our savior is coming soon.

I won’t be using AI to write THE WORD…simply because there is great value in my struggle and learnings from the Scripture, both for me and for you.  Besides, how can I claim that the Bible will change your life if I’m using a tool that keeps the Bible from changing mine?

I’ll keep using my gifts, even if it takes longer to complete my work.  It’s better that way.

I believe the same is true for the gifts and abilities God gave to you, too.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Sometimes, God provides chainsaws

For many years, our family has supported the mission of Chestnut Mountain Ranch, located in Morgantown, WV.  CMR started in 2004 as Steve and Dawn Finn began making moves and building support to create a debt-free ministry.  Their vision is “Restoring hope to children and families” and they accomplish this by being a Christ-centered safe haven for boys and families in crisis… a place for family restoration, where boys can enjoy school again, and all can experience positive family values.  They provide these troubled boys with a Christ-centered home and school.  They aren’t looking just to get these boys to “learn to behave” or simply make up how far behind they are at school, instead CMR reaches for the hearts of young men and aims to restore broken families through a structured, loving community.  The undergirding promise CMR relies on is found in one of Paul’s letters to the believers in a town called Corinth:

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.

My wife and I have been able to support them in a variety of ways over the years: we’re monthly supporters, we’ve put sweat equity into various builds and projects, we’ve participated in fundraising events, and we have often donated when I have received a bonus check.  One time, we were in the market for a “new” used car for my wife, and instead of trading in her old vehicle, we donated it to CMR.  It’s been so awesome to support them in many small ways and in a few big ways…but the story around our most recent donation is probably now my favorite.

On Wednesday, March 12th, I received a bonus check from work.  We immediately talked about how we can help CMR.  We went to their Amazon Wish List to do some shopping.  The biggest item on their list was a chainsaw.  Now, you have to understand, CMR is located on 300 acres in wild, wonderful West Virginia.  A chainsaw is a necessity for their area – they have tons of land to manage and trees to remove as they expand the number of homes onsite to house the boys.  We thought this would be a perfect gift to buy for them…one problem, though.  Every time I went to purchase the chainsaw on Amazon, I received an error message saying “This item cannot be purchased off a wish list.”

So the next day, I sent Steve a text to let him know that the Amazon Wish List wasn’t an option to get him a chainsaw.  Here’s his reply:

I’m not sure why Amazon blocked the sale but if you want to order one that would help us.  We’ve got a mission team here this week and two of our chainsaws went down.  Stihl saws are the best.  It seems like everything else we’ve used over the years doesn’t last.  We use chainsaws a lot here.

The timing couldn’t be better. We were just talking this morning about how our chainsaws were dying out over the last few days with this mission team.

I got the specs of the Stihl chainsaws they needed and started searching the web.  I found a Morgantown Stihl dealer that had two of them on hand.  When I called them and explained the donation situation, they offered to unpack them and get them ready for use at no additional charge. 

The best call came next.  I called Steve and told him that there were two of their exact-request chainsaws waiting for them to pick up.  His first words were, “Are you serious?” and then he told me that previously, rebuild kits had been purchased, tried, and had not fixed the two chainsaws they were using.  In fact, he said, that morning he was talking with the other leaders about needing to replace those two saws.  And then…out of the blue…there are two new chainsaws ready to go.

The thing is, Steve and I hadn’t communicated in over a month.  Sometimes several months pass between texts.  He and I had never talked about this mission trip, what they were working on, or anything about chainsaws.  We were not aware of CMR’s need, and they were unaware of our new capacity to give on that particular week.  But somehow, God orchestrated it all. 

What’s really cool about this story?  This isn’t the only time God has stepped in to provide for an issue that has come up for Chestnut Mountain Ranch.  Steve can tell you dozens of stories just like this one, and many of them on a much, much larger scale.  God has always provided for them, and this time…well…God provided chainsaws.

But this story isn’t just about God providing tools to get some manual labor done.  Looking at this from a larger perspective: Steve and CMR were, once again, reminded that God is actively moving in ways to support them; the mission crew will be able to refer to this incident for the rest of their lives and share with others how they witnessed God’s provision; and we were affirmed that following God’s prompting to give has the potential for great impact.

And for you?  Check out the links above.  Learn more about CMR, take a look at their Amazon Wish List.  Because everything donated to them – whether it’s basketballs, sweat equity, chainsaws, money, or anything else – all goes to the mission of showing these troubled young men that in Jesus, they can find hope and a future.  They will learn that they can become God’s new creation.  Becoming new means they have a second chance.

Keep Pressing,
Ken