Skip to content

Published. by Pastorly

Writing for pastors and the people who serve beside them, starting from Scripture and the work of a real church week.

Some pieces help with this week: a sermon due Sunday, a lesson to prepare, a passage to understand. Others take up the questions behind the week, among them what AI should and should not do in a church.

Editorial illustration of an open reference book, a closed volume and a teaching draft connected by a pencil line.
Field guide

How to Check an AI Bible Answer Before You Teach It

Check AI Bible answers before teaching them. Three worked examples cover Scripture in context, attributed quotations and Greek word studies.

· AI and ministry · 4 min read
A father listens to his daughter as their Bible conversation continues from the church path to a table at home.
Field guide

Family Discipleship: Faith Conversations After Sunday

Help parents talk about faith at home with a worked Luke 19 example, useful questions and a note their children’s ministry can adapt.

· Teaching and discipleship · 4 min read
An adult in work clothes reads an open Bible at a household table, with a work bag beside the chair.
Field guide

Sermon Preparation for Bivocational Pastors

Sermon preparation for bivocational pastors, with a comparison of two weeks, a Mark 4 study note and ways to share church work.

· Sermon preparation · 4 min read
Editorial illustration of two adults finding a Bible passage together in a small church.
Field guide

Preaching to People Who Did Not Grow Up with the Bible

Preaching to people who did not grow up with the Bible: a Mark 2 example for explaining the setting, unfamiliar words and the passage.

· Sermon preparation · 4 min read
Three men continue a conversation while clearing breakfast plates in a church hall.
Field guide

What Men Need from Church Beyond Sunday Morning

Men’s ministry beyond Sunday: a Philippians gathering, research on church life, and room for men at different stages of life.

· Church life and leadership · 7 min read
A church volunteer works alone at a laptop with printed notes, at a long table in an empty church hall.
Field guide

Church Volunteer Workload: Sharing the Work

Share church volunteer workload beyond the Sunday roster, with a worksheet for the work one person carries and a projection example.

· Church life and leadership · 9 min read
The view from the back row of a church sanctuary toward a lit, blank projection screen.
Field guide

Sermon Slides for Sunday

Decide what belongs on your sermon slides, give Scripture room to be read, and hand the slides to the person running the screen.

· Sermon preparation · 11 min read
Two church leaders pass a plain folder across a meeting table.
Field guide

Sermon to Sunday School, Youth and Small-Group Lessons

Turn one sermon into Sunday School, Youth and small-group lessons, with a message brief, an Ephesians 4 example and help for teachers.

· Teaching and discipleship · 11 min read
AI-generated editorial image of an adult church ministry team planning around an open Bible and ministry notes.
Research

AI for Churches: 12 Practical Uses and Clear Boundaries

AI for churches: 12 uses for pastors, staff and volunteers, with Scripture, ministry examples and decisions about what belongs to the pastor.

· AI and ministry · 10 min read