On The Rise: The Gospel Coalition won’t publish you if you do this. + A 1 Star review you need to read

Published about 2 hours ago • 5 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, The Gospel Coalition comes out against AI, and I tend to agree with them. A one-star review that is probably going to make your day, why 91% of your employees are napping, and the best leadership book I've read in years.

If You Use AI, The Gospel Coalition Won’t Publish You

Actually, they have a point.

Maybe you saw this over the summer, but the Gospel Coalition released a policy statement essentially banning the use of AI in its published content (with the exception of a basic spell-check).

While I’m not 100% aligned with their policy (I think using AI to edit and improve is fine along with many other uses), I very much agree you should not use AI to create content in the name of Jesus. That’s your job. You should never preach what you didn’t wrestle with.

Besides, as more and more college students are learning, creating with AI might be easier, but it triggers cognitive decline which, as I like to call is, is a form of brain rot.

I also agree that human feedback on our created work is essential. The ‘team’ approach to editing, challenging, and revising is something that shouldn’t get lost. Read the acknowledgments in any book, and you’ll see how much human feedback makes any published work better. I list some names at the end of my new book on AI (which released this week!!!!), but one phone call from a friend who read an early manuscript completely flipped the structure of my book and made it so much better. And no, the friend who gave me that feedback is not even a professional editor. She’s just a thoughtful leader.

AI may be easier, but human is better. Especially in spiritual work.

Read the article and let me know what you think!

It's Out. Thank You!

AI and the Future Church launched this week, and I'm grateful.

AI and the Future Church is out in the world this week! I've spent the last year going deep on AI. Reading the researchers, the optimists, the pessimists, the theologians, and the technologists. And the response since launch has been humbling.

Here's where I landed after all of it: the disruption is real, the stakes are high, and the church is better positioned than almost any other institution to navigate this moment. But only if we're paying attention.

That's the reality behind this book... not fear-mongering or hype, just a clear-eyed look at what's coming and what it means for your leadership and your church (including real reasons for hope).

If you've already grabbed a copy, thank you. It means more than you know.

If you haven't yet, it's available now wherever you buy your books.

Get Your Copy Now

Are Your Best Employees Napping on the Job?

91% of employees admit to it.

So I’m one of the 91%. Before you laugh and think this is about lazy workers slacking, the truth is most employees polled said that a catnap helped them increase focus and boost productivity.

Same.

After I burned out a decade into leadership (in part from never getting enough sleep), I started prioritizing sleep and baking a nap into most days, including my work days.

For example, on podcast recording days, I’ll write in the morning, grab some lunch, and then have a 10-25 minute nap before heading into 5 hours of podcasting. Guess what the snooze does? It helps me stay attentive and alert through two full interviews.

One of the keys to great interviewing is following the verbal and facial cues of your guests. The way to tell if there’s “more” to an answer to a question is to read the body language of your guest, and that requires full focus.

I think of naps as a way to move my battery from 50% back to 80 or 90% in just a few minutes.

Finally (it sounds like I’m on commission with the Nap Evangelism Start Up), letting your team know you’re doing this gives them permission to show up with their best all day long too. A snooze in the car at lunch or in quiet space in the office could be a sign of engagement, not disengagement.

Your Leadership Lessons Shouldn't Stop With You

Turn what you've learned into a book that can reach people you may never meet.

If you've spent years leading, building, teaching, or serving others, you've learned things that could make someone else's path easier.

A book gives those ideas somewhere to live beyond a meeting, a stage, or a conversation.

In this free training, bestselling author Chandler Bolt will show you how to turn what you know into a published book, even if you've never thought of yourself as a writer.

You don't need more experience. You need a process for sharing the experience you already have.

Learn How to Write Your Book

Weekly Recommendation

If You're Not Following Andy Stanley, You Still Won’t Want To Miss THIS

I know a lot of pastors can have questions about a leader’s theology and unfollow everything they do.

Well, one of the best leadership books I’ve ever read just came out, and it’s a fascinating exploration of the interior life of a leader, the temptations that come our way, and how to keep your personal integrity in the long haul.

Andy Stanley does a masterful job of showing all of us how to master the art of leading ourselves and our teams. I’ve known Andy for over 20 years, and there was so much new material in here it blew me away. Chapter 7, Great Leaders Resist the Evolution of a Court, is worth the price of the book alone.

This will be on my top ten list for 2026, and perhaps the decade. Don't miss it.

Check It Out

Just in Case You’re Discouraged

Here's a 1-Star review you need to read.

Pastors get discouraged every day, and for good reason. People are relentless in their criticisms and opinions, and very slow to help. Once in a while, if I'm feeling discouraged, I will go onto Amazon and find some one-star reviews.

Here, for example, is one I'd like you to consider.

“Purchased this based on best seller. After a few chapters it felt like a reading something gibberish and not English. Was a return.”

The book?

C.S. Lewis’ "Mere Christianity."

Keep going, friend, you're making more of an impact than you realize