Thoughtful AI: Stewarding Technology with Wisdom
“All things were created through him and for him.”— Colossians 1:16
“Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put a tomato in a fruit salad.”— Chris Adams
Happy Friday, Brew Nation!
There is a lot of noisy debate in the world right now about artificial intelligence. Depending on who you ask, AI is either going to save humanity or lead straight to our ultimate destruction.
I view it through a different lens: I believe everything in creation can be leveraged for positive, Kingdom-shaping impact (Romans 8:28). That doesn’t mean I’m naive—I know evil exists and technology can be misused. But as leaders, we aren’t called to stick our heads in the sand out of fear. We are called to steward the tools we are given with wisdom.
A friend and business leader, Tom Carmazzi, captured the essence of this balance perfectly when he said:
“AI is structured thought, not thoughtless structure.”
The Power of the AI Thought Partner
Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to present on how AI can help leaders deploy better structures, sharpen processes, and multiply productivity.
At a recent conference where I was both speaking and facilitating, I used AI as an active thought partner. A task that normally would have taken two people 12 to 15 hours to draft and refine took less than two hours. That is a 90% reduction in time—and as a guy who values healthspan and sleep, that gave me back a lot of precious rest!
Just this week, I sat down to build a retreat agenda for an upcoming co-facilitation session between two executive clients. Because AI has learned the frameworks, Lean methodologies, and coaching tools I use every day, it acted as a dynamic brainstorming partner.
The key phrase here is thought partner. I don’t use AI to replace my thinking or abdicate my responsibility. I use it to sharpen my execution.
4 Guardrails for Using AI Better
At the FCCI conference, best-selling author Jordan Raynor shared four powerful practices for stewarding AI intentionally as a leader:
1.Add a cue to pray before you prompt: Jordan came right out of the gate with the heavy hitting truth. It is so easy to open an app and go to AI first for answers. As a man of faith, I cannot forget to go to God for wisdom before I go to an algorithm for data.
2.Adopt rules of engagement to guard your calling: For your core area of expertise, use AI to assist, never to abdicate. For tasks where you are an amateur, use AI freely, but never foolishly.
3.Train your AI to push back: Don’t use AI to make judgment calls that require human discernment and character. Remember the Chris Adams quote: “Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put a tomato in a fruit salad.”
4.Think for 10 minutes before you prompt for 1 second: Don’t ask technology to do your heavy lifting. Put your own thoughts, structure, and intent together first before typing a single character into a prompt box. Jordan even suggested to walk during that 10 minutes. You can then combine guardrail 1 & 4 as well as get some steps in… stacking habits!
Quote of the Week
“AI is structured thought, not thoughtless structure.” — Tom Carmazzi
Being the Uncommon Leader means leading with intentional stewardship rather than fear or laziness. It is the “huddle room” of discernment—the space where you master your tools rather than let your tools master you. Common leaders either hide from technology out of fear or abdicate their critical thinking to a machine. Uncommon Leaders think deeply first, pray for wisdom, and leverage technology to multiply their impact for others.
Special Brew Nation Resource: Get the “Push Back” Prompt!
Want to train your AI tool to act as a true sounding board rather than a yes-man?
Reply directly to this email with the words “THINK FIRST” (or email coachjohngallagher@gmail.com with the subject line THINK FIRST), and I will send you the exact prompt Jordan Raynor recommended to instruct AI to push back on your assumptions!
What You Need to Do
The AI Stewardship Audit
To make sure you are using technology to advance your work without losing your discernment, execute these three steps today:
- Pause Before You Prompt: The next time you open an AI tool, take 10 minutes to write out your own thoughts on paper first. Define the goal before asking for help.
- Identify Your “Assist vs. Abdicate” Boundaries: Draw a line between tasks where AI can assist your process and high-stakes decisions where your personal wisdom and character must drive the call.
- Send for the Prompt: Reply THINK FIRST to lock in the guardrails for your daily workflow!
“Growth is the only guarantee that tomorrow will get better, but tools are only as good as the hand that guides them. Keep your foundation in Him, do the hard thinking first, and keep climbing. ”
It’s an honor to be your trusted Friday Coffee Guy. Each week, I bring what I’m testing, learning, and applying in my own executive practice so we can keep building together. If this edition challenged you to sharpen how you steward your time and tools, “, SHARE it with a colleague, then click SUBSCRIBE. Let’s grow Brew Nation together!
Until next week—pray first, think deep, steward well, and go grow champions!
