Welcome to the On The Rise newsletter, where I feature fascinating, helpful, and sometimes curious content that caught my attention this week.

Today, a Gen Z thinker reflects on the commodification of Christianity, a completely fresh way to lose your brain, irrational money moves, and your achievements v. your impact.

The Commodification of Christianity

I have mixed feeling about this, but she has a point

One young emerging voice that constantly makes me think is Freya India (she's coming on the podcast later in 2026). She is a rare combination of great thinker and great writer. Plus she’s Gen Z.

In this all-too-accurate post, she writes about how Christianity has been ‘commodotized” by the rise of for-profit companies peddling products to enhance your spiritual life, from apps, to influencer products.

“To become a Christian, begin your 7-day free trial now” Freya writes. Indeed.

I am fully aware that I am part of this challenge, and sometimes I wonder if Jesus would just show up, turn over all of our tables and storm out.

The weird thing is that so many companies have stepped into fill the void left by the collapse of denominations and seminaries in our lifetime. And on the one hand, that’s great. You and I are not alone or bereft of help.

On the other hand, well, we had better tread lightly.

For me, all of this writing and helping church leaders started as a hobby as part of my burnout recovery process of finding hobbies. Turns out I like writing. Then a lot of people showed up, and now it’s what I do full-time and I have a team etc etc.

In the end, read the article, and for all of us who do something in the Kingdom that involves money (and yes, that’s you non-profit and church leaders too), it’s good to regularly examine our motives.

Unexamined motives will drive you until they destroy you. So thanks, Freya, for helping all of us examine our motives once again.

Do You Preach Your Best Sermons On a Deadline?

A free 3-day challenge to finally get ahead on your preaching.

When you preach something you finished twelve hours ago, your congregation gets your first draft. When you're two weeks ahead, they get something that's had time to settle, but in your study and in your soul.

Here's what I've figured out over decades of preaching.

My best messages are very rarely the ones I scrambled to finish. Sure, sometimes you knock one out of the park. But the ones that had time to breathe are almost always the ones that land best... you connect the dots on an evening walk, get a new idea when you're driving to work, and stumble onto the perfect illustration in a conversation that had nothing to do with Sunday.

That's why my team and I put together a free 3-day challenge: Get Ahead on Your Sermon Prep, July 7th–9th.

The goal is to get you two weeks ahead by the time we're done. I wish someone had walked me through this twenty years sooner. It starts in just a few days and you can register completely for free.

Free 3-Day Challenge

Do You Have This Problem in Your Church?

Almost certainly, you do.

Just like Jeremiah before he got thrown into the well about the growing, I’ve been banging the drum this year about the pastoral challenges posed by AI.

This NYT article advice column outlines the problem I’m positive is happening in your church. In addition to the challenges of AI sexbots, there’s the challenge of not making any decision in life without first checking with AI. And it’s becoming a marriage issue.

What should you do for date night? Ask ChatGPT.

Argument with your spouse? Claude will give you a strategy.

Work trouble? Check your spouse’s advice against Gemini before acting.

See the problem?

In case you’ve used up your free articles for the month, the NYT Ethicist wisely points out that what the partner in question is losing is the use of his brain.

Quoting the English philosopher John Stuart Mill (1859), commenting on someone writing their own ‘plan of life’:

“he must use observation to see, reasoning and judgment to foresee, activity to gather materials for decision, discrimination to decide, and when he has decided, firmness and self-control to hold to his deliberate decision.”

The risk in downloading your judgment to a machine is that you lose your judgment, and ultimately your agency.

I think it’s critical for pastors and leaders to start talking about the impact of AI now, because this is certainly a tension point for a meaningful percentage of people in your church.

Kingdom Dreams for Your Church

And a partner that get's it.

When you have big Kingdom dreams for your church, you deserve a financing partner that understands the unique dynamics of church lending and is committed to working with you.

For over 75 years, Wesleyan Investment Foundation has partnered with thousands of churches, providing the financing needed to help dreams become a reality. They offer flexible, competitive rates and terms designed specifically for churches.

Click to learn more about partnering with Wesleyan Investment Foundation for your church loans.

Check it out

Book Recommendation

The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel

This month, for peak summer reading, I’m recommending some of my all time favorite or most helpful books. The newsletter is three and a half years old, so I’m guessing a little repetition might be welcome.

I read everything Morgan Housel writes, and the Psychology of Money is a great place to start. Essentially, he looks at the invisible things that motivate people to act rationally, and most often, irrationally with money.

A few quotes:

“To grasp why people bury themselves in debt, you don’t need to study interest rate: you need to sturdy the history of greed , insecurity and optimism.”

“One of the most powerful ways to increase your savings isn’t to raise your income. It’s to raise your humility.”

“Be nicer and less flashy. No one is impressed with your possessions as much as you are. You might think you want a fancy car or a nice watch. But what you probably want is respect and admiration. And you’re more likely to gain those things through kindness and humility than horsepower and chrome.”

If you’re teaching or preaching on money any time in the next year, it’s a worthy read. If you’re just trying to be a better steward or what God has entrusted you with, this is also a powerful window into what (really) drives you.

Check It Out

Quote I’m Pondering

Father Ronald Rolheiser on Achievements v. Fruitfulness

I’ve been re-reading Father Ronald Rolheiser’s book, Insane for the Light, and took pages of notes, which is rare for me. It’s one of the most formative books I’ve read in decades, and in this passage he reflects on what our accomplishments are actually about and how we distort their purpose.

“Our achievement is not the same thing as fruitfulness. Our achievements are things we have accomplished. Our fruitfulness is the positive long-term effect these achievements have on others. Achievement doesn't automatically mean fruitfulness. Achievement helps us stand out while fruitfulness brings blessings into other people's lives.”

Think about how much better your achievements might be if you designed them and processed them through the lens of how much they accomplish for others than merely how they made you (fleetingly) feel.

More from Fr. Ron next week.