Online Spaces and Third Places: What the Starbucks Rebuild Tells Us About Digital Ministry

Howard Schultz, the former CEO (and ostensible founder) of Starbucks, famously described the coffee chain as a "third place." In his vision, Starbucks was to be a place of communal gathering beyond the home and the workplace, a place to cultivate a sense of warmth, connection, and belonging. For much of its history, Starbucks designed stores aligned to this philosophy.

Large tables. Overstuffed chairs. Handwritten names on paper cups. Even the self-serve counter for milk, cream, and sugar promoted a sense of connection and interaction. Starbucks was a place of conversation and gathering. A place to conduct business or to catch up with friends. A place to read a novel or relax with your co-workers. Starbucks was able to sell its beverages at a premium price point in part because of the inviting amenities of its stores. The brand became an "everyday luxury" not just because of the coffee, but because of the subjective, and even sentimental, experience of lingering within a cafe.

But then in 2009, Starbucks launched its mobile app, beginning a journey away from the third place philosophy. 5 years later, Starbucks implemented order-ahead technology, allowing customers to bypass the line, skip the small talk, and obtain their extravagantly customized beverage from a to-go counter.

As mobile orders became increasingly common, cafes became a place not of conversation but of commerce. Starbucks decreased space for tables and seating, preferring open concepts to comfortable furnishings. Floorplans began to emphasize an efficient online ordering experience over lengthy lingering. Up until recently, the app-based strategy paid off handsomely. Some estimate that the Starbucks app accounts for over 30% of the cafe's orders. Customers pre-load cash into the app, effectively giving Starbucks an interest-free loan. Today, Starbucks boasts over two billion dollars of unused cash from customer app accounts, making the coffee chain a larger banker than most mid-sized American banks.

And then inflation hit. Even the most loyal Starbucks customer began to question the value of an $8 latte. As coffee drinkers balked at the price points, they also grew increasingly agitated at the in-store experience: the lack of seating. Barristas overworked from excessively customized orders. The confusion over how, when, and where to obtain one's beverage.

Same-store sales began to shrink. The stock price declined. Former CEO Howard Shultz lambasted the technological nature of Starbucks' business as an "achilles heel." Today, Starbucks is undertaking a substantial rebuild, guided by the former CEO of Chipotle, as it seeks to create a hybrid of third space community and digital age efficiency. Promising "more personal" cafes, Starbucks will look to rebuild their brand in a way that accommodates both the hurried app user and the relaxed table dweller.

The more I read about the Starbucks rebuild, the more I recognize that the challenges confronting Starbucks are the very same dilemmas confronting today's church.

How and when does an institution accommodate a faster-moving, technology-driven culture? How and when does an institution push back on acceleration and digitization?

How does an institution remain rooted in its foundations and its convictions, even when those convictions are unconventional? How does an institution revisit its foundations and reexamine its convictions?

How does a leader balance financial stewardship of an organization with the commitment towards community and human connection?

The digital transformation of Starbucks’ business is a necessity, as are the church's experiments with digital ministry.

For Starbucks, the digital transformation was about reaching an increasingly mobile, time-strapped coffee drinker. For the church, digital ministry is about equipping people for lives of faithful services, even beyond the walls of the sanctuary. Even though digital experimentation is crucial, both organizations must maintain their distinct characteristics, like nurturing meaningful connections among their communities. Despite the necessity of digital innovation, both institutions must learn to thoughtfully preserve what made them distinctive: the experience of meaningful connection with those gathered around the table.

I never would have thought that today's church shares so much in common with the world's 120th-largest for-profit corporation. But next time I step into a coffee shop to order a cold brew and an iced chai, I won't just be observing the making of the beverage. I'll be looking at how an institution balances change and continuity, velocity and values. As there’s no easy solution to this balancing act, we in the church just might observe something that we can learn from. Starbucks may not get any of it right. Not all of their learnings can or should be imported into the church. But they'll be engaged in a similar thought process to that of the ecclesiastical world. And that’s worth paying attention to.

In the church, we’re called to convene a different kind of table and share a different kind of cup. Still, there's something that we might be able to learn when we reach the bottom of our next cup of coffee.

How to Write a Church Newsletter with AI and ChatGPT

If pressed to identify which weekly message is the most important and formative, some church leaders would identify their sermons. I suspect that many more would cite their email newsletter.

Each week, only one of three American adults attends church. For better or worse, the vast majority of us will connect to our faith communities through digital communications rather than Word & Sacrament. Setting aside the obvious theological issues, it is increasingly clear that a ministry's digital communications aren't just any ordinary calendar. Newsletters are how countless parishioners connect with the mission of the church - and with one another. That quick glance at a pastor's letter, that quick scan of a sermon summary, that cursory glance at events for the upcoming week - might be the only moment of faith community some of us experience week in and week out.

AI tools like ChatGPT can help us to be more effective communicators. They can improve our newsletter content in both style and substance, exporting our proclamation to a dispersed faith community.

Use AI to open the newsletter with theological reflection from a recognized leader

The opening section of your newsletter is your opportunity to articulate where God is showing up in your context. It should precede the logistics: specifics on Bible study start times, quilting group meeting dates, VBS registration processes.

Think of that first block of text as a sermon in miniature, a chance to collate readings, liturgies, and seasons with the particulars of your ministry context. And this is where AI can be so useful. ChatGPT and other applications can help you to consolidate, contextualize, and organize your ideas.

To write a theological reflection using AI, write a prompt that instructs the bot to create a succinct summary of your most recent sermon. Explain that it will be used to open your weekly email newsletter. You may even prompt AI to connect that summary with local, national, or global events.

Recently, I preached a sermon on Mark 5:21-43 (the healing of Jairus' daughter). If I were to repurpose my sermon for an email communication, I would prompt AI to do the following:

Repurpose the following sermon on Mark 5:21-43 for use in an email newsletter. The summary should be no longer than 250 words. Connect the sermon to the back to school season, including a reference to families returning to fall routines.

Here's what ChatGPT recommended based on my input:

As families gear up for the back-to-school season and adjust to fall routines, it's a perfect moment to reflect on everyday heroes and the lessons they teach us. In Mark 5:21-43, we encounter Jairus, a synagogue leader whose life is turned upside down when his young daughter falls gravely ill. Despite his privileged position, Jairus faces profound fear and desperation. He approaches Jesus with a plea for help, showing remarkable faith even in the midst of uncertainty. However, his journey is far from straightforward. Jesus’ response is delayed as He attends to other needs, including healing a woman with a hemorrhage. Jairus is left waiting, grappling with his fear and frustration.

This story highlights a powerful lesson for us as we transition into the school year. Like Jairus, many of us face periods of waiting and uncertainty, whether it’s navigating new academic challenges, adjusting to family schedules, or dealing with personal struggles. Jairus’ experience reminds us that faith involves trusting in God’s timing and being patient through the process.

As we dive into the fall season, let’s find inspiration in Jairus’ quiet strength and unwavering hope. His story encourages us to embrace our roles as unsung heroes in our own lives, managing the highs and lows with faith and perseverance. Just as Jairus waited for Jesus to show up, we are invited to wait expectantly for God’s presence and guidance in our daily routines and challenges. May this season be a time of reflection, renewal, and recognizing the extraordinary in the ordinary.

Not a bad start to an email communication for late August!

Use AI to summarize your events

One of the best ways to use AI for your newsletter is to format and organize your calendar.

After your theological summary, it's time to organize the dates, times, and locations of events in your community. AI accelerates the process by organizing unformatted, disorganized inputs into a coherent message.

Use AI to generate images

If you're going to take the time to send a weekly newsletter, you need to take the time to include an image. Newsletters with an image have a five percent higher click through rate than emails without an image. But congregations without a media team or graphic designer may not have a source of consistent images and illustrations.

Thats' where AI can help.

From promotional images built with Canva, to sermon illustrations built with ChatGPT 4, AI accelerates the image generation process to boost the visibility of your communications.

Image generation often requires a paid subscription to an AI application. I've found ChatGPT's paid models create the most engaging images (including posters to promote an upcoming event), though Canva's free image generators are't a bad substitute. Canva helped me create this picture of Martin Luther using an iPhone:

When prompting AI to generate an image for a newsletter, be specific about the theme and the intent of the newsletter. Provide clear guidelines on the desired style, color scheme, and content of the image to ensure it aligns with the overall message you want to convey. The image should complement the written content and enhance the overall impact of the newsletter.

Be prepared to provide feedback and iterate on the generated images as needed. By engaging in a collaborative process with the AI, you can ensure that the final image meets your expectations and effectively serves its purpose within the newsletter.

How to Write a Faithful Sermon with AI and ChatGPT

Artificial intelligence will soon revolutionize sermon preparation. With the development of tools like ChatGPT, the process of crafting a sermon has become more efficient and accessible. Through the simple input of a passage from scripture, AI can generate a compelling sermon that can engage and inspire listeners. This technology has become a valuable resource for those who may lack the time or expertise to develop sermons from scratch, offering a helping hand to the resource-constrained pastor or parishioner.

Moreover, the capabilities of AI extend beyond just generating content. With additional context and details about the intended audience, artificial intelligence can tailor the sermon to resonate more deeply with the specific congregation. By understanding the theological nuances and preferences of the listeners, AI can craft a sermon that not only conveys the message effectively but also aligns with the beliefs and values of the audience.

While some may view the use of AI in sermon preparation as a shortcut or a compromise, it is important to recognize the potential benefits it brings to the table. By leveraging technology in this way, preachers can focus more on delivering the message and connecting with their congregation, rather than getting bogged down in the intricacies of sermon writing. Ultimately, artificial intelligence serves as a powerful tool that enhances the preaching experience and enables a more impactful delivery of spiritual teachings.

The problem is this. While an AI-generated sermon may be engaging, it is unlikely to be faithful.

Dr. Karoline Lewis of Luther Seminary defines a faithful sermon as having seven characteristics. In her books, Dr. Lewis argues that a faithful sermon is:

• Biblical

• Autobiographical

• Contextual

• Theological

• Intellectual

• Emotional

• Inspirational

AI-generated sermons can contribute to some of these characteristics. It can generate a sermon text that is intellectual, even emotional. But it will struggle to write a sermon that conveys the true voice of the preacher in a way that autobiographical, just as it will struggle to convey the true needs of the congregation in a way that is contextual. An algorithm might be able to provide historical and narrative context for a Gospel text, but connecting the text to particular stories within a church remains a deeply human task.

Moreover, artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT cannot answer the complex questions put in front of the preacher - for example, how to reconcile the story of the text with the story of the preacher. Nor is AI particularly effective at working through dialectical tension (though to be real, many pastors aren't, either!).

Given such complexity, Dr. Lewis argues that preaching is both "art and craft." Any preacher can use ChatGPT to generate the text of a sermon manuscript. But the faithful preacher is still called to a complex process of a complex process of reflection, imagination, and articulation.

Thus, today's preachers could (and should!) use AI tools as a tool within the homiletical process. ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and other such tools can serve as a sermon co-pilot, providing the preacher with research and editing services. The sermon of the digital age ought to be AI-supported, not AI-generated. The future of faithful preaching is one where the preacher utilizes AI as any writer would utilize a librarian, copy-editor, or conversation partner.

Three ideas for using AI to craft a faithful sermon

Draw the narrative arc

Dr. Lewis' first characteristic of a faithful sermon is that it is Biblical, that it is proclaimed to help others become better readers of the Bible. Part of the responsibility is to help the context understand the narrative and literary arcs that are at work in a passage. Churches that utilize a lectionary may struggle to illustrate the narrative arcs that exist within scripture. At times, the lectionary's narrative progression is clear - during Holy Week or throughout the Lenten season. But lectionaries have a way of selecting texts that may seem disconnected to the average worshipper, whose attendance is sporadic and whose Biblical literacy is inconsistent.

Asking AI for the broader narrative context situates a text within the plot arcs or literary techniques that we may struggle to notice.

This last July, the Revised Common Lectionary gave us the Gospel story of Mark 6:14-29 - the beheading of John the Baptist. It is a gruesome Biblical text, one where Jesus is nowhere to be found. AI can situate this text within a larger narrative arc, while breaking down its literary structure so that it might be interpreted to today's reader.

Integrate the broader context

Dr. Karoline Lewis explains that a preaching context exists at multiple levels. All congregations have their own context - staffing changes and pastoral transitions, budget crises and new program launches, birthdays and anniversaries, funerals and Confirmations. But context also exists in the surrounding geographical community. Expanding further, context exists at the level of states and nations. And in an age of global interconnection, there is always a global context to be considered.

Generative AI gives us both a microscope and a telescope, empowering us to analyze the context at the level of the city or state as well as at the level of global trends. It can serve as a news aggregator, a curator of data and statistics, and a compiler of signficant trends in culture, politics, and society.

Prompts like "Connect the Gospel story of Mark 6:14-29 to our struggles with political polarization" can integrate this broader context. So can a prompt like "To what extent can Mark 6:14-29 speak to a congregation worried about future stability?" And while AI doesn't understand the specific situations of a particular ministry,

As with any content generated by AI, it is essential to fact-check the responses. AI often struggles with proper source attribution and can make significant errors. Therefore, it is crucial for pastoral leaders to verify the accuracy of these insights before incorporating them into their sermon material.

Edit, refine, and polish

Dr. Lewis contends that an effective sermon should also evoke emotions - emphasizing that it's not just about the content, but also about the delivery. One practical way to incorporate AI tools such as ChatGPT, Wix AI, or Grammarly into the sermon preparation is by utilizing them as copy-editors.

When utilizing AI as a preaching assistant, it's crucial to acknowledge that these tools offer more than just basic corrections. They can rectify spelling and grammar errors, but their capabilities extend much further. They can modify the tone, adjust the pacing of the narrative, inject humor, or trim lengthy sentences. In the near future, AI tools will be capable of guiding preachers on their verbal delivery, syncing with their schedule to allocate time for practice and feedback. Eventually, AI will serve as the editing and coaching companion that congregants would have wished preachers had enlisted years ago!

Faithful Preaching with AI

There are thus three paths for how preachers will utilize generative artificial intelligence.

One path is to ignore the development of this new technology, continuing to sermonize exactly as one did before the arrival of ChatGPT 3. One path is to delegate the sermon creation process to focus on other pastoral tasks. Given the strengths and limitations outlined in this blog post, both of these approaches are irresponsible.

The best path is to choose neither of these extremes, but to utilize AI as a co-pilot for situating a text, connecting it to a context, and presenting it clearly and effectively. If we develop these habits, perhaps we will also learn how to preach a faithful sermon with AI.