Don’t settle for an impact smaller than you’re called to make. It's time to unlock your potential and lead confidently into a future filled with growth — for yourself, your church, and your mission. Get access to some of my best leadership content, only published in my newsletters.
On The Rise: How people spend their time + AI for babies & Dallas Willard
Published about 20 hours ago • 4 min read
Welcome to the On The Rise newsletter, where I feature fascinating, helpful, and sometimes curious content that caught my attention this week.
Today, an eye-opening video that shows how people have spent their time over the last hundred years and how that's changed, insights from Dallas Willard, AI babytech that is kinda creepy, and a quote from Claude Monet.
How People Spend Their Time 1920-2026
This is eye opening.
How do you (and the people you lead) spend your time? A fascinating graphic chronicles the changes over the last 100+ years and it’s nothing short of eye-popping.
From the amount of time spent with friends (massive drop) to the rise and fall of TV watching, the rapid rise of gaming, social media and time online, to the drop in time having sex every day and corresponding rise in porn consumption, this explains a lot of why we’re where we are as a culture.
Right now, someone in your congregation is asking AI questions they used to ask their pastor. Questions about anxiety... or marriage... or faith and doubt. They're typing them into a chatbot at 11pm and getting instant, confident answers.
But nobody prepared you for this, did they? And most of what's out there right now is either hype or panic... neither of which helps you lead your actual church next Sunday.
That's why I wrote my new book, AI and the Future Church. It unpacks the basics around AI technology to help you understand and lead through the moment we're in. It's about what the church offers in an age when answers are everywhere, but connection is rare.
Inside, I walk you through the shifts that anchor you and your people through the changes ahead with practical, specific moves you can start making now.
One of the more embarrassing aspects of modern marriage is that one of the first thing my wife and I do often in the morning is compare our sleep scores. What was your HRV like overnight? How much deep sleep or REM did you get? Yes, we both have wearables that track all of that stuff. I know, I know...but such is life and marriage in 2026.
Well, now that's coming for your infant. As reported in The New York Times, AI and various startup companies are now giving you complete AI and surveillance data on your baby way beyond that grainy video monitor that was available a few years ago. I don't know how helpful or healthy all of this is (as the author mentions, it straddles creepy and delightful), but this is parenting in 2026.
79% of Churches Have No Digital Outreach Strategy. Does Yours?
Turn online searches into meaningful 1:1 conversations with people in your community.
Today, the journey to a church often begins online. People search, compare churches, and decide where to visit before they ever attend a service.
VisitorReach was built by pastors to help churches connect with spiritually curious people before they visit—and continue building relationships long after their first Sunday.
With the VisitorReach system you get:
Search Listing Management
Meta & Google Paid Ads
Build Text & Email Workflows for Ad Responders
App to Manage Conversations
Includes Tap for In-Person Engagement
VisitorReach gives the churches they need to engage new visitors–all in one platform.
Join the growing number of churches using VisitorReach.
Schedule a quick 15-minute callto see how VisitorReach helps churches reach more people and turn interest into church visits. Use code CAREY to get $750 off.
On my summer break this year, I was drawn into spiritual growth books, and began my 5 week vacation with Dallas Willard’s Scandal of the Kingdom. The thing that surprised me the most, is the delight and joy Dallas took in Jesus, not to mention the ease of relationship Dallas seemed to have with God. Although Dallas only died thirteen years ago, this book feels like a welcome relic from the past.
Carey Nieuwhof Communications, PO Box 160, Oro Medonte, Ontario L0L 2X0
Carey Nieuwhof
Where 100,000+ leaders get top insights to thrive in life and leadership.
Don’t settle for an impact smaller than you’re called to make. It's time to unlock your potential and lead confidently into a future filled with growth — for yourself, your church, and your mission. Get access to some of my best leadership content, only published in my newsletters.
