Church technologyFrom the builder

AI Helps Produce. It Does Not Create.

By Michael Tribett · His own words, arranged with AI · October 2, 2026 · 6 min read

Until now, most of the posts on the FlockConnect blog carried my name as their author, and I did not write them word for word. I've changed that, and the biggest thing that led to the decision was conviction.

Originally, I attributed those posts to my name because of research I was doing on search engine optimization. Everything I read said a blog post won't get seen unless it's attributed to an actual author. But I have been reading books like The AI Apocalypse from The Gospel Coalition, and out of conviction I've decided to go away from that and say where those posts came from and how they were developed. Whatever that does to search engine optimization, I'd rather be 100% transparent with you than have my name on something I did not write word for word.

That said, the ideas in those posts are mine. They are based on writing I've done, on my seminary research, and on hundreds of hours of transcribed conversations with others, and a lot of my original ideas come through in them. I edited them and fact-checked them, and my background in Christian ministry, including my MDiv, helped me make sure they are truthful and helpful for the person reading. I just want to be truthful with you about what I did and didn't write.

The person is the gatekeeper

AI is built into how I work, so here is what that looks like. Anything AI produces for me starts with a carefully crafted, carefully thought-out prompt and with research, and the output is fully read, fact-checked, analyzed, and edited before it is published. The AI is not the gatekeeper. The real gatekeeper is the person, and attached to that person is wisdom and knowledge. AI helps produce. It does not create.

Just because we can

I honestly don't know exactly who I'm writing this for. Probably whoever comes across it, maybe because you searched for something and this was the only article that dealt with what you were looking for. Most people who come across these articles will probably be pastors, and I think pastors in particular should be concerned with how something was made.

Many people do things willy-nilly, without thinking through what, why, and how to do something well. One of the quotes I really like is from Jurassic Park, and it goes something like this: just because we can doesn't mean we should. A lot of AI creators right now are producing a ton of content only because they can, not because they should.

FlockConnect is not that. It exists because a problem exists, it helps pastors solve that problem better, and nothing else out there currently does what it does. It has been designed, prayed over, thought out, and crafted for years. And it isn't built only on my convictions and my approach, but on the convictions and approach of many who came before me: my pastor, and people who have influenced me like Gavin Ortlund, John Piper, Brett McCracken, Jonathan Edwards, Saint Augustine, Justin Martyr, King David, and ultimately Jesus, and so many more.

What this blog is

This is one place FlockConnect differs from The Gospel Coalition. The Gospel Coalition exists to create content that will influence pastors and Christians throughout the world. FlockConnect is an app designed to help pastors, and its blog should be seen more as curated content that leads pastors to original sources, like those at The Gospel Coalition, the church fathers, and so much more.

Very little of what is said or produced today is an original idea, especially when we look at church history. There have been hundreds and hundreds of saints whose beautiful, unique, structured, prayed-over, Spirit-prompted sayings and writings have helped make us the church we are today, so the idea of an original idea should be taken with a grain of salt. That said, the ideas we have, and the way we write them, should be said in our own voice. When I have an original thought, or something I want to say, I will say it in my own voice, and the post will say so. But much of what you'll find here comes from people far more abundantly bright and wise than me, curated to help the pastors who come across it.

The heart behind FlockConnect

I want you to know the heart behind FlockConnect. It is designed intentionally, prayed over, and influenced by church history, by the needs of the church, and by theologians, disciples, and missionaries. FlockConnect is not taken lightly, just as my commitment to the Great Commission is not taken lightly.

I also want you to know that God designed humans to steward what he has created, that he designed us to create, and that we are the imago Dei, made in his image. Angels are far mightier than we are, and yet God gave his image to us, not to them, and it is to humanity, not to angels, that he subjected the world to come (Hebrews 2:5-8). Paul even says we will judge angels (1 Corinthians 6:3). If a being as great as an angel does not outrank the image of God, neither does a machine, or superintelligence for that matter. Intelligence does not make someone human, and it does not equate to dignity. More intelligence does not give someone more dignity, and no amount of intelligence makes something greater than a human.

About the author

I am Michael Tribett, the founder of FlockConnect. I hold a Master of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (2022), I have led a small group at my church since 2018, and I spent three years inside a major ChMS company before building the relational layer I kept looking for and never found. When I am not building, I am a full-time dad to two little girls.

How this was written: built only from Michael Tribett's own recorded and written words, arranged with AI, then edited by him until it read as his. How FlockConnect uses AI