This is Empires of the Future, conversations to encourage the Church in a time of change.

The Revival of the Ipod

Is there a good use for old(er) tech? For many, that answer is turning out to be “absolutely”. Tired of the many distractions that come with using a cellphone for everything, many are picking up their old devices again seeking the peace and quiet that was associated with many kinds of old tech. In particular, iPod sales are surging, and since both of the hosts of this podcast appreciate the utility of the iPod, it prompted a conversation about the devices we use and whether or not they’re using us.

https://apnews.com/article/ipod-music-streaming-iphone-a6a010a1d9001abb0580b7a1cebe9c13

"The Empires of the future will be Empires of the Mind." - Winston Churchill

This is Empires of the Future, conversations to encourage the Church in a time of change.

Should we use AI in Christian Worship?

The predictions concerning the capabilities of Artificial Intelligence are as varied as they are confusing. It may bring on an age of plenty. It may take every human job, eventually. It may open up opportunities undreamt of by previous generations, if it doesn’t kill us all. And it may do some mixture of all these things in just the next few years.

There is a temptation in the church to take one of two positions on this: either it won’t happen and I don’t want to know about it, or it may signal the end of the world. Faithful christians cannot assume just because a massive change is coming that we won’t need to make major adjustments to it. This podcast is our first effort in trying to do that. Here we discuss how much change A.I. is likely to bring in the church in particular, what uses we should avoid and what uses we could (with some care) engage with. The technology is not going away, but like so many other technologies, it holds promise and peril already, and certainly more in the future.

We use Ross Douthat’s recent article for the New York Times on changes in the workplace more as a jumping-off point for this discussion, but it is provided here: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/opinion/ai-jobs-employment.html

"The Empires of the future will be Empires of the Mind." - Winston Churchill

This is Empires of the Future, conversations to encourage the Church in a time of change.

The Lure of Danger and the Price of Achievement

Alex Honnold is a name some of us have come to know in the past few years for his death-defying climbs of both man-made and natural wonders. His "free solo" climb of natural wonder El Capitan with no safety gear leads us to ask important questions about danger, challenge, and achievement, while also considering sports of various kinds and how they fit into a life well-lived. We use Rusty McKie's article at the Gospel Coalition as a reference point.

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/achieve-die-reflections-free-solo/

"The Empires of the future will be Empires of the Mind." - Winston Churchill