Social Media, Attention, and AI
Dan Brendsel
Episode Eight of Preaching and the Pastor Theologian –
Joel Lawrence and Matt Kim speak with CPT Fellow Dan Brendsel about preaching in an age shaped by social media, attention economics, and artificial intelligence, exploring how technology subtly reinforces idolatry and the illusion of control. Brendsel argues that preaching should resist catering to diminished attention spans and instead cultivate prayerful attentiveness to God, framing preaching as God’s address to a listening community rather than a performance or content delivery optimized by technique or AI. Drawing on thinkers like Neil Postman, C. S. Lewis, and Oliver O’Donovan, he emphasizes improvisation, dependence on the Spirit, and the irreplaceable “occasion” of preaching—something no algorithm can anticipate. The conversation challenges pastors to examine how technology forms both preachers and congregations, calling them back to trust in the Word, embodied listening, and a posture of humble submission rather than technological mastery.
Dan Brendsel (PhD, Wheaton College) is the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Hinckley, Minnesota. He is the author of Isaiah Saw His Glory (De Gruyter, 2014), Answering Speech (Crossway, 2023), and several articles appearing in books and journals. He is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Pastor Theologians.
