A friend of mine once showed up to a half-marathon with everything, water bottle, race bib, pacing strategy, all except one crucial thing: his running shoes. He had been so focused on the gear, the weather, and the race plan that he forgot the most basic equipment. He missed the race because he wouldn't run in socks!
Right now, many nonprofit and ministry leaders are approaching the AI race the same way. They are reading reports, considering tools, and following trends. But they are missing one essential thing: discernment. Without it, we run the right race with the wrong footing.
“Test everything; hold fast what is good.”
1 Thessalonians 5:21 (ESV)
Discernment is not hesitation. It is not avoidance. And it is not naivety. It is a Spirit-led, systems-aware posture toward progress. In a moment where AI is advancing faster than our policies, theology, and strategy can keep up, we need more than innovation. We need anchored discernment.
Take a minute to read through what we believe are the 5 AI Discernment Rules for Nonprofit Leaders:
1. Do Not Let Urgency Determine Your Ethics
Speed will tempt you to compromise. Slow down and decide first what your red lines are.
The pressure to be early adopters is real. Other members ask, What is our AI strategy? Donors want to see innovation. Internal teams are experimenting on their own. The temptation is to move fast and sort out the ethics later.
That is a mistake.
You need a values-aligned AI policy before you implement tools. Who owns the data? Who gets displaced? What are your guardrails around dignity, labor, and truth?
Discernment questions
Are we adopting this because it aligns with our mission, or because we are afraid of being left behind?
What practices do we consider exploitative, even if they are efficient?
2. Treat AI as a Tool, Not a Theology
AI can help you do your work. It should never define why you do it.
Nonprofits rooted in faith or values must be crystal clear. AI is not a source of wisdom. It is an amplifier. It reflects what we feed it. If you treat AI like a prophet, it will eventually mislead you. If you treat it like a tool—limited, biased, but useful—you can steward it with care.
Discernment questions
Are we asking AI to make decisions only people should make?
Are we centering AI in places where the Spirit should be centered?
3. Invest in Human Judgment, Not Just Automation
Efficiency is not enough. Your people still need wisdom, empathy, and theological depth.
AI can write your newsletters. It can summarize grants. But it cannot replace human nuance, emotional intelligence, or moral clarity. If your team gets lazy with discernment because AI is faster, you have just traded spiritual muscle for speed.
Training your team to think, question, and challenge AI outputs is as important as choosing the right software. Discernment is a skill set. Build it.
Discernment questions
Are we developing our staff’s critical thinking, or outsourcing it?
Do we have processes that review AI-generated work with care and cross-checking?
4. Use AI to Expand Dignity, Not Extract Productivity
The most powerful AI use cases are about empowerment, not exploitation.
Discernment means we ask, Who benefits? AI can be used to automate exploitation or to amplify dignity.
Can your refugee staff use AI to tell their own stories in their native language? Can frontline workers use it to reduce admin burden and spend more time with people?
If your AI use only serves the central office or donors but does not bless those you serve, you have missed the mark.
Discernment questions
Are we using AI to serve the vulnerable, or to better report on them?
Who is included in our design and implementation process?
5. Discern Collectively, Not in Isolation
AI decisions should never be made solo. Build discernment into your community.
The enemy of discernment is isolation. Many AI decisions are being made in silos—often by tech-savvy staff or communications teams—without broader theological, ethical, or program input.
You need a discernment structure that includes diverse voices: frontline staff, spiritual leaders, HR, finance, and those with lived experience.
Discernment is communal. It is not just a leadership skill. It is an organizational culture.
Discernment questions
Who gets to help us decide how we use AI?
Are our AI conversations rooted in prayer, people, and plurality?
AI can serve the mission. But it cannot define the mission.
Discernment will cost you time, speed, and sometimes convenience. But it will protect your integrity, your people, and your witness.
You do not have to have the fastest AI adoption. But you must have the wisest one.
We do not need more AI adoption. We need more AI wisdom.
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Nice! Worth a Restack!!!