Chapel at Cedarville

AI Roundtable Discussion

In today's chapel, Dr. White brought together four Cedarville faculty and staff voices to discuss the benefits and setbacks of AI, as well as how students should use it. Dr. Alicia McCartney, Associate Professor of English; Cam Arminio, Director of Career Services; Dr. John Delino, Professor of Information Technology Management; and Alina Leo, Professor of Management each brought wisdom from their fields to share with the Cedarville family.

Initial Benefits of AI

Panelists shared what they believe are benefits of AI, including saving time to spend it with people, improving accessibility, lessening friction in the workplace, and streamlining tedious processes.

Initial Drawbacks of AI

In addition to benefits, panelists addressed their biggest AI concerns. Dr. McCartney emphasized that AI is not actually a neutral and perfectly fair tool — it tells users what it seems they want to hear. Other concerns mentioned include AI causing laziness, setting up users to be overconfident in their competence (especially in the hiring process), encouraging users to devalue fields other than their own, and creating an expectation of instant gratification in our daily lives.

Further Questions

Dr. White asked many more pressing questions throughout the discussion, including:

1. Can AI become a master of our lives?
2. Should beginners in a field use AI differently than experts?
3. Why do we need to learn skills that AI can do easily?
4. What happens when AI replaces relationships?
5. How should we feel about AI in creativity?

Biggest Takeaways

Throughout the discussion, emphasis is placed on the importance of human relationships and community, personal integrity with AI usage, maintaining a strong work ethic, thinking critically, and writing well. When using AI, students must be careful not to idolize or over-rely on computers when Christ, personal development, and human community should be more important.

Where do you go when you need advice or wisdom? This morning in chapel, Dr. Thomas White, President of Cedarville University, reminded us that wisdom is the ability to discern what is right and how to live under the lordship of Jesus Christ. Job 28 provides a great reminder that genuine wisdom can only be found in God.

The Pursuit of Treasure (vv. 1–11)

These verses describe the great lengths that people go to when mining treasure. They spend much mental and physical energy in dangerous conditions as they hunt for gold. We, too, dig deep in search of our own earthly treasures: good grades, a good reputation, money, relationships, and success, among other things. Yet, so often, we don’t dig deep into the Bible. To neglect God’s Word is to rely on ourselves far too much. We think we’re self-sufficient, but we’re not. It is vital to have a plan for reading Scripture and to follow through with it.

The Price of Wisdom (vv. 12–19)

These verses explain that although we can uncover all the earthly treasures we want, we don’t know where to find wisdom or how much it’s worth. We can’t find it anywhere on Earth. We can’t buy it. We can’t build a ladder to God’s wisdom with our own. So how do we get it?

The Place of Understanding (vv. 20–28)

The way to wisdom is on our knees, asking the Lord above for it. It can be found in His Word. Verse 28 explains that wisdom is to fear the Lord and to turn away from evil. The fear of the Lord is reverent submission that produces obedient living. It means realizing that He is God and we are not. It means humbling ourselves rather than trusting in our own understanding. This leads us to forsake folly and live rightly.

Where do you go when you need advice or wisdom: to earthly treasures or to God? Make a habit of running to His Word and allowing it to transform everything about you. Jesus is the perfect wisdom.

This morning in chapel, Dr. Jeremy Kimble, Professor of Systematic and Applied Theology at Cedarville University, gave us an overview of the book of 1 John. This book takes us back to the basics, rehearsing what is essential and foundational. It was written after John ministered in an area, planted churches, and left for new ministry focuses. When false teachers infiltrated these churches with the message that Jesus wasn’t God’s Son, John wrote to remind them that if you get Jesus wrong, you get everything wrong. He urged them to believe in Jesus and to love God and one another.

Believe in Jesus

Central to John’s letter is true belief in the true Jesus. Belief doesn’t just mean accepting correct information about Him. It is a relational trust, a persevering commitment, and a treasuring love. It means you don’t simply fit Him into a tiny part of your life — you deny yourself, lay everything down, take up your cross, and follow Him even when the cost is great.

Genuine belief is also a current belief. It’s not just what you believed in the past; it’s a persevering faith that continues throughout your entire life.

This belief leads you to act in a certain way. Each family has distinguishing marks that set them apart. In the same way, when you are in God’s family, you will look like it. What does God’s family look like? It looks like love.

Love God and Others

Love is the glad expression of sacrificial self-giving for the good of another. Loving God and loving one another must go together and cannot be separated. We can’t say we love Him and yet not love others — even when they’re difficult to love.

We love because that’s what Jesus did for us when He laid down His life for us. When you remind yourself of His love daily by spending time in Scripture, you know who you are in Him, and this equips you to love others. The love that others receive from you transforms them so that they, too, love more readily.

You will not live a life of love apart from the Gospel of God. Believe in Jesus. Persevere in your faith. Encourage and exhort others. Disciple and be discipled. Know and be known. Orient everything in your life back to the source that is Jesus. Be in your Bible and pray daily. Pause, be still, and behold Him.

Chapel Recap: Do You Love Me?

In today’s chapel, Dr. Trevin Wax, Vice President of Resources and Marketing at the North American Mission Board, concluded his Fall Bible Conference series on the questions Jesus asks us, diving into His question of, “Do you love me?” to Peter in John 21:15–19.

What is Jesus Looking For?

Turning the question framework around, Dr. Wax discussed what Jesus would answer if we were to ask Him what He was looking for. While many would say faith or obedience, Dr. Wax suggested a deeper answer: Love. Christ’s desire for love differs in motivation from ours. We desire love because we have needs and feel unfulfilled. Christ desires love not because He lacks fulfillment, but because He knows we will be fulfilled by loving Him. Even His own desires are selfless.

Jesus Questions Peter

After Peter denied Jesus three times, his sin and shame were suffocating. Peter once saw his heart as righteous but realized how unrighteous he truly was. Dr. Wax reminded us, “There’s no coming back from denying Jesus three times — the only solution is for Jesus to come to Peter.” In asking Peter if he loved Him, Jesus looked at Peter’s heart.

Rest in the Lord, Who Knows You Completely

While our hearts, like Peter’s, can condemn us, 1 John 3:19–20 tells us to be assured that God sees the truth of our love. Even when sins and wickedness feel overwhelming, Christ sees His children’s genuine, though often feeble, love for Him. Because of this, Peter can be confident, despite his sin. Jesus sees the love in Peter's heart. Dr. Wax emphasized, “The one who knows you best is the one who loves you most.” The Lord loves to use the weakest of us because His strength will be glorified through us.

Answer the Call To Cross-Shaped Service: Real Love

Each time Peter says he loves Him, Jesus tells Peter to shepherd His people. To love Jesus means to love those He loves. We cannot be fearful of being hurt when we love. Real love bleeds. Love is costly and painful in a fallen world, but Christ calls us to love anyway. We must love Christ and love like Christ until the day when we see Him face to face.

This morning in chapel, Dr. Trevin Wax, Vice President of Resources and Marketing at the North American Mission Board, preached through Luke 7:36–50. This passage presents a story of a Pharisee named Simon who was disgusted by a sinful woman’s unusual expression of worship toward Jesus. Jesus asked him a very important question: “Do you see this woman?” Of course, Simon realized the woman was there, but Jesus invited him to see her with a different kind of sight: a kind that’s bound up in love.

The Boxes That Blind Us

Two types of “boxes” keep us from seeing people the way God wants us to see them. First, you can be stuck in a farsighted box, where you see groups and labels clearly without seeing the individual in front of you. When you are blinded by this box, you pre-judge people based on categories and never push beyond those stereotypes to really know a particular person.

Second, you can be stuck in a nearsighted box, where you’re so focused on yourself that you are left with no energy to see others. When you're blinded by this box, your friendships are only focused on what people can do for you, not what you can do for them.

Simon looked at the woman and saw only a dirty sinner. He was appalled that such a person would touch Jesus. But Jesus told him a different story. He saw a woman showing gratitude for her salvation, a broken heart spilled out in worship. He explained to Simon that she had actually shown far more extravagant, generous hospitality to Jesus than Simon had.

The Gaze That Changes Us

Jesus truly saw both Simon and the woman, and He loved both of them deeply. He sees and loves you that way too. The God on the throne is the God who stoops to see each of us.

What does it mean to see how God sees? It means to look beyond the outer surface, to break beyond the façade, and to look at a particular person, not just their type. The only way this is possible is through love. True love doesn’t look for a category; it finds a person.

Seeing like Jesus begins with being seen by Jesus. Look up to the God who notices you. In being seen by Him, you will begin to truly see others, to realize their infinite value, and to love them the way He loves.

Chapel Recap: Why Are You Afraid?

In today’s chapel, Dr. Trevin Wax, Vice President of Resources and Marketing at the North American Mission Board, continues a series on the questions Jesus asks us throughout the Gospels. He preaches from Mark 4:35-41, in which Jesus calms the storm and asks His disciples “Why are you afraid?”

The Power of the Storm

Dr. Wax begins by addressing what we are afraid of, which is the storm around us and its power. Often, we confuse being in a storm for not living in the Lord’s will for us. The disciples, however, were doing what Jesus asked of them when the storm surrounds them in Mark 4:37. God does not promise a life without storms, and Dr. Wax points out that issues such as job loss, church drama, health diagnoses, and even death will be a part of every believer’s life.

The Persistence of Doubt

Dr. Wax asks us to think about what the root of our fear is. He asks “What drives your fear? That God can’t intervene, or that He won’t?” All is not lost, however. The disciples, even when doubting, brought their concerns to Jesus repeatedly. Sometimes our persistence through doubt is what allows the storm to lift our faith.

The Presence of Faith-filled Fear

Dr. Wax finally addresses how the world wants us to address fear and storms, and how the Scriptural approach differs. The world tells us we need to become bigger than the storm we fear. The Bible, however, tells us that while we are smaller than our storms, our God is the storm stiller. Like the disciples in Mark 4:41, we should fear the power of the Lord, not the power of the storm. When our view of God is large, our fear of the storms around us is smaller. Only by realizing the power of the Lord can we trust Him fully, and not fear the circumstances we face, but the power of the God who guides us.

Chapel Recap: We Are Called to Be “Built by Wisdom”

Cedarville University welcomed students, faculty, and staff back to campus today for the opening chapel service of the academic year. Dr. Thomas White set the tone for the year, calling the Cedarville community to worship together, build meaningful relationships, and pursue wisdom in an increasingly artificial age.

A central focus of today’s chapel was the University’s approach to artificial intelligence. Dr. White emphasized that AI is neither a savior nor something Christians can ignore. Instead, Cedarville University aims to prepare biblically faithful servant leaders who engage AI with skill, discernment, academic integrity, and humility. Students were encouraged to become AI-literate, learn to evaluate AI tools responsibly within their fields, and protect the critical-thinking, reading, and writing skills that rigorous academic work develops.

The message also underscored that technology cannot replace human connection. New and returning students were urged to participate in discipleship groups, share meals with one another, and practice face-to-face fellowship.

The chapel service also introduced Dr. White's new sermon series, “Built by Wisdom." Throughout the year, the Cedarville community will study wisdom literature from Job, Ecclesiastes, and Proverbs, asking how God’s Word shapes faithful decisions amid information overload and cultural uncertainty. The challenge was clear: seek not merely more information, but godly, biblical wisdom.

The service also previewed Fall Bible Conference, featuring Dr. Trevin Wax, and shared campus updates including the future Bolthouse Academic Center. The welcome also celebrated new apartment spaces and an expanded weigh room, reminders of continuing investment in the student experience on a growing campus today.

As the semester begins, Cedarville University remains committed to helping students flourish through Christ-centered education, faithful community, and lives built by wisdom in every academic, spiritual, and relational opportunity available.