Faith Meets Academia
Welcome to Faith Meets Academia!
Struggling to connect your faith with everyday life, career ambitions, or academic pursuits? Hosted by a university professor and ordained minister, Dr. Adrian Reynolds, this podcast will help you translate your faith-based values into personal growth, professional development, and academic success. Faith Meets Academia emphasizes that faith and work can forge a mutually sustaining partnership.
Each episode breaks down complex academic concepts into everyday language and connects them with timeless spiritual principles for transformational learning and development. By the end of each episode, you will be equipped with practical tools to set the tone for a purposeful, productive week.
Join the journey today!
Your host, Adrian Reynolds (Ph.D.), is an ordained minister, learning coach, and assistant professor of medical education at an R1 university. He is on a mission to merge educational innovation with biblical wisdom. Dr. Reynolds brings over two decades of teaching experience across the educational continuum: from working with underserved, high school students as a state-certified instructor of Spanish to coaching students in graduate and professional degree programs in evidence-based teaching skills and the science of learning.
Dr. Reynolds’ work is located within the rapidly growing field of applied learning sciences and is driven by both socio-cognitive and sociocultural approaches to learning and teaching. His preventive model of academic coaching has been published in journals such as Medical Teacher and Clinical Teacher. He has held over 1,000 (one-on-one) academic coaching sessions with medical students, residents, fellows, and pre-med students. Dr. Reynolds has developed numerous peer-teaching programs for medical students in addition to courses in the science of learning for residents, pre-med and high school students.
Dr. Reynolds has been preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ for over 10 years both nationally and internationally. He has long been recognized to seamlessly intertwine academic concepts with biblical principles: His approach to preaching and teaching the word of God is centered around growth mindset (Philippians 4:13), transformational learning (Romans 12:2), and reflective, mindful practice (Philippians 4:8, Joshua 1:8, Psalm 119:97).
As a missionary ambassador, Dr. Reynolds has embarked on transformative journeys that bridge cultures and continents, bringing tangible support and hope to those in need. Most recently, in the fall of 2023, his dedication to humanitarian causes led him to Mozambique: From the bustling streets of Maputo to the serene countryside of Inharrime, through the unwavering support and sponsorship from faith-based leaders and communities, Dr. Reynolds has played a pivotal role in the allocation of humanitarian aid and educational resources, providing essential support to elevate community wellbeing.
Earlier that year, he engaged in a mission focused on cultural exchange and relationship-building in the Maputo province to better understand and address local challenges. Through these missions, Dr. Reynolds exemplifies the true essence of a missionary ambassador, integrating service, education, and faith into impactful action.
Faith Meets Academia
Episode 44: How to Use AI to Learn How to Use AI in Your Ministry
Welcome to today’s episode! Today I have an exciting, groundbreaking announcement regarding the transformative impact of AI in ministry leadership. As faith-based leaders face various challenges (e.g., declining engagement and volunteer burnout). AI innovation can be a game changer--that is, if you know how to optimize its use. I have created an invaluable resource, Anointed Prompts, designed to empower faith-based leaders to turn AI into a personal coaching assistant.
Subscribe to faithmeetsacademia.substack.com to learn more.
WEBSITE: https://faithmeetsacademia.buzzsprout.com/2312145/episodes
CONTACT: faithmeetsacademia@gmail.com
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DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely my own and do not reflect or represent the positions, policies, or opinions of my employer, any organization or academic institution with which I am affiliated. This podcast is a personal initiative, and is not connected to my official/ formal duties and responsibilities as a university professor.
Hey friends, welcome once again to Faith Meets Academia. I hope your week is going well and I'll pray that the rest of your week will be blessed, will be productive and purposeful. Today I have a really exciting announcement. I think you're going to love it. Stick around, this is going to be one for the books.
Speaker 1:If you are a servant leader at any level, if you are in ministry, in whatever capacity, whether you're a pastor, whether you are a team leader, a Sunday school teacher, sabbath school teacher, clergy, at any level or rank minister you name it this episode is for you. Have you ever felt like, no matter what you do, people aren't just engaged in your church services or activities or initiatives as they used to be? Maybe attendance is really inconsistent, maybe volunteers are hard to find, or maybe your leadership team just feels like they're really stretched thin. Leadership, engagement, church growth these are challenges that are difficult to solve and it's going to take more than just your prayers. It's going to take faith and works. Those two go together. So your prayers mixed with faith and your works. I mean there's something that you're going to have to do about it. And listen, I'm not saying I've done it all or I have all the answers. I'm using AI tools to help me figure out my own journey in ministry, and in doing so, I'm trying to help you as well. So you need a strategy to figure this out, and that's exactly why I created Anointed Prompts yes, anointed Prompts. Before we get deeper into this, let me make something clear. Anointed Prompts is not replacing Faith Meets Academia. It's not another podcast or anything like that. It's a unique component of the Faith meets academia umbrella, or enterprise or movement, if you will.
Speaker 1:But what is Anointed Prompts? Anointed Prompts is a weekly guide that delivers expert, crafted prompts that turn AI into your personal ministry coach. It helps you to tackle real life ministry challenges with clarity, with strategy and with a sense of purpose and urgency. Real this is not a hoax. This is real stuff. So here's the thing AI is only as powerful as the questions you ask it. It's only as powerful as the input that you give it, and that's why I design these master prompts that help you think deeper, plan a little smarter and lead stronger.
Speaker 1:Now, at this point, you know if you're really really new to this, you might be asking well, what is a prompt? A prompt is a question. It's a statement or instruction that you give to an AI tool such as ChatGPT so it can then generate or produce a response. The prompt guides the tool on what you want to learn or discuss or create. So think of it like posing a question to a coach or a mentor. Right, the better the prompt, the better the response and effective. Prompts are clear, they're specific, they're targeted, they're goal-oriented and they help. Large language models such as ChatGPT provide relevant, timely and useful answers.
Speaker 1:When you subscribe to this weekly guide or I mean you could call it sort of like a newsletter if you will, but it's way more than a newsletter. This is not just text. This is like you're getting mastercrafted, expert-crafted prompts that are going to serve as your virtual ministry coach, based on how they're written and you'll see in a minute. So when you subscribe but as a matter of fact, if you want to subscribe, I mean you could go ahead right now and subscribe faithmeetsacademiasubstackcom. That's faithmeetsacademia all together substackcom, s-u-b as in boy S-T-A-C-Kcom. This information will all be in the episode description. It'll be in the transcripts as well. You can just go there, click the link, sign up, subscribe, right.
Speaker 1:So here's what you'll get when you subscribe to Anointed Prompts. You'll get expert, designed prompts from an ordained minister and university professor that's me, of course Prompts that tackle real ministry, real-life ministry challenges. You'll receive faith-driven strategies for leadership, for growth and engagement. You'll receive AI-powered insights that help you make better choices, but guess what? You still get to remain the thought leader, and you're just using AI as your thinking partner, your thought as your thinking partner. You're still in control of this, right, like? Ai is not here to replace your ability to think critically, and so my prompt is going to create a space for you to continue to use your own God given insight and critical thinking skills. Yeah, this is practical, 24-7 virtual ministry coaching that you can implement right now.
Speaker 1:Let me illustrate to you how anointed prompts work. I'm going to share a prompt with you and, like I said, this will be in the show notes. You can cut and paste. You know I'm making it real easy for you, all, right. So the prompt that I'm going to give to you, I mean, here's what you can do. I'm just going to give you some instructions for this, because I know you might be really new to it, right? So, step number one you can copy and paste the prompt, right, copy the prompt and enter it into your large language model. I mainly use ChatGPT. If you have another favorite, you can use that right. Use chat GPT. If you have another favorite, you can use that right. So just paste it in there to begin your virtual coaching session.
Speaker 1:Step two you want to personalize it, right? So in the prompt there's going to be some placeholders. Replace the placeholders with your specific details. Right, you're not using any names, no identifiers. Replace the placeholders with your specific details. Right, you're not using any names, no identifiers. Replace the placeholders with your specific details so that the responses are more relevant to you and your situation, your circumstance, right.
Speaker 1:Step three refine the response. If the answer that ChatGPT is giving you is too broad or vague or unclear, feel free to ask for more clarity. Feel free to ask for simplification or more depth. Step four before applying the given guidance or recommendations, of course, do your due diligence, carefully review the AI-generated responses just to make sure they align with your faith-based values, your doctrine, your beliefs, etc. Your context and your goals before implementing them. Yeah, I get it. The fear is real when it comes to AI, right, but don't let that fear hold you back. In fact, check out episodes 2 and 3, if you haven't already to take a deep dive into the relationship between your fear and your faith.
Speaker 1:I understand the fear factor, right, but here's the power of anointed prompts they don't just give answers, but literally turn GPT into your personal ministry coach, using powerful questions to help you conquer your fears and address some of your most pressing concerns regarding a plethora of topics. So the prompt that I'm about to read to you is about learning about AI by using AI. That's what this is going to help you do, right, and I'm giving it to you for free, at least this one. So through frameworks such as transformational leadership, the technology acceptance model, cotter's eight-step change model and servant leadership, ai can actually guide us in making faith-driven decisions. This is really where the intersection of faith and academia come alive. Hey, faith meets academia. Get it all right. So here's the prompt I'm reading verbatim again. This is a prompt that I created. I'm new to AI. I've been in ministry for insert number years and I am insert number years old. I serve as insert your role in ministry.
Speaker 1:Honestly, all this chat GPT stuff makes me uneasy. I've seen people lose their jobs because of it. I'm also worried that AI might diminish the personal connections we value in our pastoral care. What does this all mean? Will people turn to machines instead of their pastors for wisdom and guidance? Plus, what if AI starts tampering with biblical truths in ways that don't align with our faith? Yet everywhere I turn, people say AI is moving fast. Some even claim that if we don't adapt, we'll be left behind or replaced. That's really scary, but at the same time, I'm wondering if there could be a way to use AI without compromising what matters most.
Speaker 1:I want you to ask me powerful, high-quality questions, one at a time, at every level of Bloom's Taxonomy, helping me to work through my AI fears. I want you to help me understand how the tool could be beneficial in any aspect of my ministry. After I respond to each question, I want you to evaluate my answer and provide constructive feedback so that I can refine my thinking. Remember just one question at a time. Your coaching approach should be evidence-based and practical. It should draw upon transformational leadership theory, the technology acceptance model, kotter's eight-step change model, servant leadership and frameworks for AI ethics to address my concerns.
Speaker 1:I want this coaching session to be interactive, thought-provoking and faith-based. Feel free to use scriptures where relevant. How's that? I gave you the instructions. I want you to try this out right now. Guess what? Even if you're not on staff as part of your church's administration or leadership team, I want you to try it out nonetheless and then share it with your church administration, with your church administrators, including the leader of your congregation. And let me say this I know in the prompt that the term pastor is used, but whatever term you use to describe your faith-based leader, you can replace it with that title. So, friends, I want you to try this out and recommend it to someone you know.
Speaker 1:Now. I don't want you to waste your time trying to convince someone about all the benefits of using AI. Like you want to recommend this to people who you think may have an interest, but they just don't know how or where to begin. So guess what? If you're serious about leading with clarity and strategy and purpose, right, I want you to subscribe to Faith Meets Academia on Substack so you can gain access to anointed prompts. Today, each week, you'll get a coaching prompt that will challenge and equip you to lead with wisdom and purpose. Go to Right. Here's how you do it Go to faithmeetsacademiasubstackcom and sign up now.
Speaker 1:Now, just to be clear, there is a free subscription and there's a paid one. The choice is yours. Of course, the anointed prompts only come with a paid subscription, and it's a very reasonable cost. Go to faithmeetsacademiasubstackcom to learn more. Hey, drop me a line right. Remember, in every episode, right under the episode title, there is a send us a text link. You can securely privately send me a text message and let me know your thoughts about this.
Speaker 1:I'd love to hear from you what are the challenges that you've been encountering in your ministry and are you ready to do the work by using AI to your advantage to help you address these challenges? All right, don't forget to subscribe to Faith Meets Academia on any major podcast platform so you'll never, ever, miss an episode. Thanks for joining again, and I do look forward to hearing from you. Let's build a community around this. In order for us to build a stronger community though a stronger bond, I would also like to encourage you to subscribe to Faith Meets Academia on Substack. You're able to leave comments, you're able to ask questions. We're able to build a community, right, because I know I mean Faith Meets Academia podcast. I have thousands of downloads and I would love to interact more directly with all of you. To interact more directly with all of you, my dear loyal listeners. All right, so join the family. Let's take Faith Meets Academia to a whole different level. Take care and God bless.