Missional AI Podcast

Spirit Led Intelligence: What AI Can Never Replace | Natchi Lazarus | Missional AI Podcast

Recorded live from Silicon Valley at the Missional AI 2026 Global Summit, Josiah sits down with Natchi Lazarus to discuss his brand-new book Spirit Led Intelligence — released just days before this conversation. Natchi has been at the intersection of faith and technology for nearly two decades. Based in Chennai, India, he and his wife began helping their local church with digital ministry in the mid-2000s, pioneering church live streaming back in 2007 — more than a decade before most ministries caught on. His first book, The Connected Church, became a textbook in Bible colleges and seminaries around the world. Now, with AI reshaping everything, Natchi argues the Church needs a new framework and a new vocabulary to thrive in this moment. In this conversation, Natchi and Josiah explore why AI is fundamentally different from social media — social media was attention, AI is electricity — and unpack the three challenges that have plagued churches for 2,000 years and why agentic AI may finally solve them. Natchi shares the story of a twenty-year-old at an AI conference whose question sparked the book, what intelligence actually means, the striking parallel between Genesis 1 and generative AI, and why he insists on the term spirit-led intelligence rather than spiritual intelligence. The episode closes with a vision for partnering with AI on what it does well, while protecting what God uniquely gave each of us to do. Pick up Spirit Led Intelligence by Natchi Lazarus on Amazon — available now. Missional AI is coming to London this July. Join leaders from across Europe and around the world for two days at the intersection of faith and AI. Register at missional.ai. (00:00) Why AI is different from social media(02:16) Welcome and introducing Natchi Lazarus(02:42) From Chennai marketing to church technology(03:42) Pioneering church live streaming in 2007(05:09) Social media skepticism then, AI skepticism now(07:05) Why AI is electricity, not just attention(08:27) The three challenges agentic AI can solve for churches(10:45) The origin story of Spirit Led Intelligence(13:32) Defining intelligence and the role of environment(15:23) Jesus, Adam, and the perfect prompt(17:26) Rediscover, deploy, transmit: the book's framework(19:48) What separates humans from superintelligent AI(22:55) Gifts of the Spirit and partnering with AI(27:48) Why "spirit-led" and not "spiritual" intelligence(29:45) Closing reflection: living with God on a headphone

Bobby Gruenewald: A Billion Bibles & the AI Moment

A billion Bible app installs. Sixteen AI agents. One uncomfortable insight about fluency vs. intelligence. Bobby Gruenewald joins JP on the Missional AI Podcast. What does it look like to lead a ministry through its biggest technological shift in a generation — right after crossing a billion installs? Bobby Gruenewald, Founder of YouVersion, sits down with JP to talk about what the billion-install milestone really represents, why AI is quietly driving a global resurgence in Bible engagement (including print sales among Gen Z), and how he's rebuilding his team for an AI-native future without shrinking it. Bobby unpacks the launch of the YouVersion Platform — now giving developers near-instant licensed access to 1,300+ Bible versions through APIs and SDKs — shares why YouVersion is opening 20+ regional hubs from Lagos to London to São Paulo, and offers a candid look inside his personal AI lab, where 16 agents and roughly a billion tokens a week are reshaping how he leads. He also names one of the most important and least-discussed dynamics of this moment: we've always equated fluency with intelligence, and this is the first technology to be super-fluent without being super-intelligent. The implications — for ministry, leadership, and our own discernment — are significant. In this episode: * Why YouVersion paused to celebrate the billion milestone * The AI moment and the global resurgence of Bible engagement * Inside the YouVersion Platform and how developers can build with Scripture * What it takes to reach the second and third billion * Rebuilding teams for an AI-native era * YouVersion's new global hub strategy * Bobby's personal AI experiments — and what they're teaching him * Boundaries, deep work, and the illusion of productivity * Why fluency is not intelligence Join us in London this July. Missional AI London brings together leaders from across Europe and beyond at the intersection of faith and AI. Register and join the community at https://missional.ai [https://missional.ai] Follow the Missional AI Podcast on Spotify so you don't miss the next conversation.

The Question Isn't How to Use AI — It's How Not To" - Joshua Seale & Yvonne Carlson

"The question isn't how should I use AI — it's how I shouldn't." That insight from Yvonne Carlson sets the tone for our Silicon Valley summit debrief. Recorded at the Missional AI SV'26 Global Summit in Santa Clara, James Poulter sits down with Joshua Seale (Missional AI / Biblica) and Yvonne Carlson to unpack why Silicon Valley felt like the right place to gather this year — and what's shifting at the intersection of faith, technology, and global mission. From Christians embedded in big tech and the major AI labs, to churches finally joining the conversation, to a global community spanning Nairobi, Paris, Mumbai, the Middle East, and beyond — this episode traces how Missional AI has grown from a Bible translation movement into a broader ecosystem reckoning with AI's impact on personhood, work, identity, and ministry. In this episode: * Why SV'26 came to the heart of Silicon Valley * Christians in big tech and a "Nehemiah on the walls" moment * The diversification of the Missional AI community * A "Nicene Creed for AI"? The AI Ethics & Standards Playbook * From vibe coders to vibe workers (and the coming vibe burnout?) * Holding opportunity and risk in tension * What stays uniquely human in an AI-saturated world Chapters:( 00:00) "It's how I shouldn't use AI" (01:07) Why Silicon Valley for SV'26? (02:50) Why we didn't return to Dallas (04:30) Has tech been hostile to the church? (06:05) How AI is shifting the conversation (07:34) The world comes to Silicon Valley (10:45) From Bible translation to a broader movement (11:58) The church joins the conversation (13:45) Coming up: Missional AI London (14:38) AI as a society-wide issue (17:16) AI in Europe and a "Nicene Creed for AI" (18:13) The AI Ethics & Standards Playbook (20:33) Vibe coders, vibe workers, vibe burnouters (21:10) Identity, giftedness, and what AI changes about us (22:51) Holding opportunity and risk in tension (24:39) What remains uniquely human(26:24) How to get involved Resources: → Download the AI Ethics & Standards Playbook: https://missional.ai/7-principles-of-ai-ethics [https://missional.ai] → Join us at Missional AI London (July 2026): https://missional.ai [https://missional.ai] → Join the community on Slack via https://missional.ai⁠ [https://missional.ai] Subscribe for more conversations on faith and AI.

Dr. John Lennox | What does the AI revolution mean for what it means to be human?

Dr. John Lennox on AI, the image of God, and the return of Christ. Recorded in Oxford as foundational content for the Missional AI 2026 Global Summit. What does the AI revolution mean for what it means to be human? This conversation was foundational content for the Missional AI 2026 Global Summit. We deeply wanted Dr. John Lennox's voice shaping the room in Santa Clara, but travel wasn't possible — so we went to him. In February 2026, we sat down with him in Oxford to record this full-length interview, and his thinking became one of the theological anchors of the entire Summit. Dr. John Lennox — Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford, philosopher of science, and author of 2084 and the AI Revolution — joins his nephew Simon Lennox for a wide-ranging conversation on the questions AI is forcing the church to take seriously. Drawing on Genesis, Daniel, 2 Thessalonians, and Revelation, Dr. Lennox traces how today's push toward godlike machines and enhanced humans echoes a much older temptation: "you shall be as gods." He unpacks the control problem, the coming disruption to white-collar work, the weaponization of AI, and why the worldviews of the field's pioneers — overwhelmingly atheist and naturalist — are shaping the systems the whole world will inherit. But this is not a conversation of despair. Dr. Lennox makes a robust case for the dignity of the human person made in the image of God, the uniqueness of consciousness and relationship, and the unrivaled hope of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He closes with a direct charge to Christian technologists: don't retreat from the field. Partner intellectual wealth with entrepreneurial wealth — as Lydia did with Paul and Humphrey Monmouth did with Tyndale — and use these tools to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth. In this conversation:– Why Dr. Lennox started writing about AI, and what Genesis has to do with it– Biblical prophecy, the "man of lawlessness," and the push toward world government– The deification of humanity, from the Caesars to Yuval Noah Harari's Homo Deus– Narrow AI, agentic AI, and the coming shake-up of law, medicine, and coding– Why ethics depends on worldview, and why Christians must be at the table– Consciousness, qualia, and what machines can never do– Transhumanism's promise of immortality vs. the resurrection of Christ– A charge to Christian technologists: wealth, work, and wisdom for the Kingdom Books referenced:– 2084 and the AI Revolution (Zondervan)– Have No Fear– A Good Return: Biblical Principles of Wealth, Work and Wisdom Recorded in Oxford, February 2026. Released as foundational content for Missional AI 2026 — the premier gathering of Christian leaders, technologists, and ministries at the intersection of faith and artificial intelligence. Learn more and join the community at missionalai.com Table of Contents: 00:00:00 Introduction00:00:27 Why a mathematician writes about AI00:03:00 The books: 2084 and the AI Revolution00:04:44 Revelation, prophecy, and the Lord of history00:09:09 The man of lawlessness and the deification of humanity00:13:00 Homo Deus: when machines look like gods00:17:12 Reading the Bible into the AI moment00:20:45 A new industrial revolution00:24:31 From narrow AI to agentic decision-making00:28:23 The control problem and the ethics of worldview00:30:59 What machines will never do00:36:11 Worldviews, Harari, and the dignity of being human00:43:06 Transhumanism, immortality, and the resurrection of Christ00:47:39 One-to-one witness in a global crisis00:50:33 A charge to Christian technologists00:53:52 Wealth, work, and wisdom: Lydia, Tyndale, and you00:56:26 Closing

Is Responsible AI the Brake or the Engine of Innovation?

What if responsible AI isn't a brake on innovation — but the engine that drives it? In this episode, Joshua Seale sits down with Maria Luciana Axente, founder of Responsible Intelligence and one of Europe's foremost voices on AI governance. With a decade of experience advising organizations like UNICEF and NATO, Maria brings rare clarity to a conversation the faith community desperately needs to have. Maria reframes the entire AI debate: the challenge ahead isn't primarily technical — it's a human adaptation problem. How do we thrive in a world where machines outperform us on cognitive tasks? And what does common-sense Christian faith have to offer a world racing to figure out AI? In this conversation you'll hear why responsible AI frameworks actually accelerate innovation, what Jensen Huang's two-sided view of AGI means for the rest of us, and why Maria believes the faith community's greatest contribution to this moment might simply be prayer and common sense. This episode was recorded at the Global Missional AI Summit 2025. The Global Missional AI Summit 2026 is happening April 7–9 in Santa Clara, California. Visit missional.ai to register before it sells out. This episode is brought to you in partnership with Gloo — the technology platform for the faith ecosystem. Visit gloo.com to learn more.