Jeff

Jan 15

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Ron Carpenter. If you haven’t heard of him, let me introduce you—he’s the typical charismatic blowhard who takes the gospel, twists it into something unrecognizable, and re-sells it for personal gain. And now he’s selling what might be the most ridiculous product to come out of the charismatic industrial complex, a “personal pastor” app.

For $49, this app lets you “call” Carpenter and hear him pray for you or offer advice—except it’s not really him. It’s an AI bot programmed to mimic his voice. He’s calling it your “personal pastor.” Let that sink in for a moment—a personal pastor who isn’t even human.

Here’s the crazy part though. His church reportedly has 21,000 members. If every one of them buys this app, Carpenter stands to make over a million dollars—$1,029,000 to be exact. And that doesn’t even account for the people outside his church who might be gullible enough to believe they’re getting something valuable out of this.

Sensible people know that this is a scam, a blatant cash grab. Unfortunately, within the charismatic movement, sensible people are in short supply. This should offend anyone who takes the role of a pastor seriously. Shepherding a congregation is about personal care and spiritual accountability, not selling a glorified chatbot as if it can do the same job.

The fact that this is happening in charismatic circles shouldn’t surprise anyone. The whole movement is built on emotional manipulation and shallow promises. It preys on people who are desperate for hope or healing, offering theatrics instead of reality.

This app is just the latest example of why the charismatic movement is so toxic—it creates an environment where scams like this not only thrive but are seen as innovative.

Carpenter isn’t offering people a personal pastor—he isn’t even a pastor himself. He’s a charlatan of the highest order and he’s selling them a lie wrapped in technology, and the fact that so many will probably buy into it is downright infuriating.