#21: Future-Proofing Your Faith: AI, Innovation, and the Redemptive Call of the Church

Mark Your Calendar: Ruck the Way Launch PartyJoin Gabe, Chris, and friends for a mini pilgrimage experience in the Charlotte, NC area:Date: Saturday, May 16Cost: FreeDetails: rucktheway.com(Yes, Chris will be wearing a kilt. He promised.)Connect with Dr. Noah ManyikaWebsite: noahmanyika.comBooks on Amazon:Redeeming Sundar: Faith and Innovation in the Age of AIThe Challenge of Leadership: Is There Not a Cause?Prevail: Reclaiming the Divinity of Our HumanityKitchen Copilot: kitchencopilot.com — download the app and start planning meals with intentionWhat does it look like for the church to engage AI not with fear, but with faith? In this wide-ranging conversation, Gabe and Chris sit down with Dr. Noah Manyika — a man whose life refuses to fit in a box. Born in colonial-era Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), educated at Georgetown's School of Foreign Service, and now leading a tech company at the intersection of health, food, and AI, Noah brings a rare combination of pastoral depth, global perspective, and entrepreneurial clarity.From the soil of Rhodesia to the launchpad of Artemis, from the demise of the Christian bookstore to the rise of ChatGPT, Noah challenges believers to stop being "culture-bound" and start building the future God has called us to steward. This is a conversation about parenting, legacy, leadership, technology, and the unflinching belief that nothing is impossible for those who walk by faith.Dr. Noah Manyika(00:00) Welcome and introductions(02:00) Born in Rhodesia: the family that built Noah's belief system(05:00) Where is Rhodesia? Geography, colonial rule, and the shaping of a worldview(08:00) Parenting advice: training kids up in the way they should go(13:00) "My umbilical cord is buried in this soil" — rootedness and takeoff(17:00) The Artemis metaphor: what to carry, what to shed(19:00) Where America is culture-bound: entitlement, victimhood, and missing the speed of life(23:00) Georgetown, Madeleine Albright, and a missionary calling(27:00) The story behind Redeeming Sundar — and who Sundar is(34:00) Why the church reacts with fear instead of faith(43:00) Future-proofing your faith(47:00) Redemptive entrepreneurship and the unspoken fear behind institutional decline(56:00) The cautionary tale of the Christian bookstore(01:00:00) A word for parents raising kids in an AI-disrupted future(01:03:00) Kitchen Copilot: redemptive innovation in your kitchen(01:06:00) Where to find Noah's books and the Ruck the Way launch eventIf This Episode Moved You…Subscribe to the Ruck the Way podcast wherever you listenLeave a review — it helps these conversations reach more peopleShare this episode with a leader, parent, or believer who needs to hear itAnd as always — let the walk do the work.