AI and Authorship: A Framework for Ministry
- 15 left
- Course
- 5 Lessons
- 365-day access
- Includes 1 private space
Includes 1 private space
- AI and Authorship — Founding Cohort
What does faithful authorship look like when the machine can write for you?
Generative AI has given millions of people a taste of what it’s like to turn a creative idea into reality. But speed is not depth. And when the process gets shortcut, it’s not just the work that suffers but the person who makes it.
Not a tools course. A thinking course.
Every other AI course teaches you which buttons to press. This one asks why some buttons are worth pressing and some aren’t, and gives you a theological framework that won’t expire when the next tool launches. The ethic of authorship says the process makes the person. Shortcut the process and you shortcut the person.
For people who won’t settle for panic or hype.
You’re not the person who thinks language models have no valid use. You’re not the person who uses it for everything without thinking. You’re in the narrow middle, the one who suspects there’s a faithful, even redemptive way to engage this technology, and who wants a framework for that instinct. This course was built for you.
A framework. A statement. The confidence to lead.
You’ll leave with a theologically grounded framework for drawing the line between faithful and unfaithful use, a personal AI use statement you can stand behind publicly—one that says not just what you can do, but what you won’t do, and the confidence to be the person in your context who talks about this honestly.
AI and the Ethic of Authorship
Course Outline
Demystification: What the Machine Actually Does
Participants learn to explain in plain language how a large language model works and why that explanation matters for every decision that follows.
The Ethic: Why the Process Makes the Person
Participants learn to articulate why the process of authorship matters theologically and why shortcutting formation impoverishes the people over time.
The Line: Where Faithful Use Ends and Unfaithful Use Begins
Participants evaluate their own ministry workflows and identify where AI use is faithful, where it is unfaithful, and why, using specific heuristics, not abstract rules.
The Work: Faithful Use in the Real Week
Participants learn to identify the meaningless labor they already carry and apply AI to it without crossing the line they drew in Session 3 and can explain why they chose those tasks and not others.
The Statement: What I’m For
Participants leave with a written personal AI use statement they can present to their board, co-workers, school parents, or colleagues and the confidence to be the person in their context who talks about this honestly.
About the Leader
Rev. Caleb Bassett
Caleb Bassett is a pastor, writer, designer, and founder of Learning Press. He has spent more than fifteen years at the intersection of language, technology, and theology.
He led the technology side of the WELS Hymnal Project, a once-in-a-generation effort that delivered a complete hymnal suite to a national Lutheran denomination. He knows what it means to guide a major publishing project from theology through production.
He is director of the Institute for Lutheran Apologetics and a fellow of the International Academy of Apologetics, Evangelism, and Human Rights. He was a frequent panelist on The White Horse Inn, a podcast about the intersection of theology and culture. He presents and teaches frequently on technology, communication, and culture—including at the WELS National Conference on Lutheran Leadership, the WELS National Worship Conference, and Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary.
He has been writing and thinking about what technology does to the person who uses it for longer than AI brought the question to everyone’s attention. Learning Press is where that work goes public.
He lives and works in Madison, Wisconsin.
What colleagues are saying
We do not just need people who can use new technology well. We need people who can help us think well about what technology is doing to the way we read, write, speak, and imagine. Caleb Bassett is exactly that kind of thinker, and his work is both timely and deeply worthwhile.
Rev. Jonathan Hein
Coordinator — WELS Congregational Services
Can words get us to truth? Are they only used for power? Can we trust them? Words are fundamental to our humanity. We were made by words and primarily interact with truth, with God, and with each other through them. Caleb Bassett is the kind of thinker who can navigate this question with clarity and genuine depth.
Rev. Dr. Michael Berg
Associate Professor of Theology — Wisconsin Lutheran College
- $249 or 2 monthly payments of $135
AI and Authorship: A Framework for Ministry
- 15 left
- Course
- 5 Lessons
- 365-day access
- Includes 1 private space
Includes 1 private space
- AI and Authorship — Founding Cohort
This cohort is for you if...
You use AI already and feel weird about it. You have some mix of guilt, excitement, and the nagging sense that nobody in your world is talking about this honestly.
You haven’t touched AI yet because something in your gut says be careful. You want a framework for that instinct, not just someone telling you to get over it.
You’re tired of the conversation being dominated by uncritical enthusiasm on one side and blanket rejection on the other. You believe there might be a faithful, even redemptive way to engage this technology.
You’ve read institutional guidance but you know a policy statement isn't the same thing as a theology. You want to think about this at a deeper level than “here are the pros and cons.”
You write sermons, lessons, newsletters, or curriculum. You want to know where the line is between faithful use and unfaithful use, and why the line matters theologically, not just practically.
You want to walk out with something concrete: a personal AI use statement you can stand behind publicly to your board, your parents, your leaders, and your colleagues.
You want to be in a room with other church workers who are asking the same questions you are. You want honesty without hype or panic and with a conviction that Christians can lead this conversation rather than hide from it.
This cohort is not for you if...
You’ve already decided AI has no faithful or redemptive use and you’re not open to exploring the possibility. This cohort requires an open mind.
You’re looking for a tools tutorial like “10 ways to use ChatGPT for your church.” Go to YouTube for that. This isn’t that.
You want someone to tell you it’s fine to let the machine do your thinking. The ethic of authorship says the process makes the person.
You’re too busy to show up for five consecutive weeks. This cohort is live, it's participatory, and your presence matters to the others participants.
Cohort Logistics
Format: Five weekly live sessions on Zoom. 90 minutes each.
When: Tuesdays at 12:00 PM Central (10:00 AM Pacific / 1:00 PM Eastern)
Dates: June 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Size: Capped at 15 participants
Between sessions: 1–2 hours per week of applied work using your actual ministry tasks
Community: Private community space on for reflections, peer feedback, and conversation between sessions
Recordings: All sessions recorded. But your live presence is the point.
Price: $249 (founding rate). Two-payment option: $135 × 2.
Guarantee: If the first session isn't for you, full refund. No questions asked.
Fifteen seats. Five weeks. One question worth answering.
You'll walk out of this cohort knowing where the line is — and why it matters. You'll have a framework you trust, a statement you can stand behind, and the experience of thinking through this with fourteen other people who take their work as seriously as you take yours.
- $249 or 2 monthly payments of $135
AI and Authorship: A Framework for Ministry
- 15 left
- Course
- 5 Lessons
- 365-day access
- Includes 1 private space
Includes 1 private space
- AI and Authorship — Founding Cohort
Common Questions
Do I need to be tech-savvy to take this cohort?
No. Session 1 demystifies how AI actually works in plain language. If you can use email and Zoom, you're ready. This cohort is about theological thinking, not technical skill.
I’ve never used AI. Will I be lost?
You’ll be in good company. The cohort is designed for people across the entire spectrum, from never-touched-it to using-it-daily-and-feeling-complicated-about-it. The diversity in the room is part of the value.
I already use AI regularly. Is this too basic for me?
No. This isn't a tools course. You may know how to use AI, but do you have a theological framework for why you use it the way you do? Can you articulate where the line is and defend it publicly? That's what this cohort builds.
What if I miss a session?
All sessions are recorded. But this cohort is built on live interaction: breakout rooms, peer feedback, real-time conversation. If you know in advance you’ll miss two or more sessions, this may not be the right cohort for you. Wait for the next one.
Is this denomination-specific?
The leader is Lutheran and the examples draw from that tradition, but the theological framework—authorship, formation, faithful use—applies across traditions. If you're a Christian in church work wrestling with AI, you belong in this cohort.
What’s the time commitment outside of sessions?
One to two hours per week. Every assignment interacts with produces something you need to produce anyway. No busywork.
How do I add a question and answer to my FAQ section?
Three things: a theological framework for drawing the line between faithful and unfaithful AI use, a personal AI use statement you can stand behind publicly to your board, your parents, your leaders, and your colleagues, and the confidence to be the person in your context who talks about this honestly.
What if the first session isn’t for me?
Full refund. No questions asked. That's the founding member guarantee.
How is this different from other AI courses?
Other courses teach you which buttons to press. This cohort teaches you why some buttons are worth pressing and some aren’t and gives you a theological framework that won’t expire when the next tool launches. Nobody else is teaching the ethic. Everyone else is teaching the tools.