We're ALL Thomas

Artificial intelligence is transforming how information is created—and how it’s perceived.

According to our Sacred Listening Study, 65% of teenagers and 56% of adults say they are more skeptical of what they see online because of AI. Add that to a general erosion of trust in large institutions, and the trend becomes clear: trust is moving down the chain. People increasingly rely on interpersonal relationships and real-life experiences to determine what is true and worth believing.

In ministry, this means that no amount of branding, programming, or digital polish can replace the power of presence. The communities that will matter most will be the ones people can see, touch, and talk to—regularly.

Theologically, we might already be living in the age of Thomas. Not in shame, but in honesty. Like the disciple who refused to believe until he saw the wounds, people today are not rejecting faith—they’re rejecting abstraction. And if we want to reach them, we must meet them where they are: face to face, wounds and all.

(xpost from our space in monthly TryTank Newsletter)