People are paying to talk to an AI avatar of Jesus, texts from teens make perfect emo songs, and Justin Bieber reminds everyone of why he became a pop star in the first place. But first:
Resource of the Week – Parent Guide to Gen Alpha
The first generation born into the 21st century—Gen Alpha—is still developing a distinct identity. But new research from the Fuller Youth Institute is helping us understand how to serve this group of young people. We incorporated this research into our just-updated Parent Guide to Gen Alpha, and we created an episode of our YouTube series specifically exploring how parents and youth leaders can disciple Gen Alpha! We hope you’ll check out both.
And now for our three conversations..
1. Pay to…Pray?
What it is: People are paying $1.99 a minute to talk to an AI-generated avatar of Jesus through a company called Just Like Me.
Why people are paying instead of praying: You used to have to be in the same room as a loved one to share your thoughts with them, but technology has made constant communication something we take for granted. People have been formed to expect quick and easy answers—so it makes sense why the site’s promise to “talk to Jesus now” would be so appealing. Mother Teresa once said, “God is the friend of silence.” Although God is always available to us in prayer, beckoning us to Him, He does not always respond instantly. While frustrating at times, embracing this is an important part of developing a mature faith. Silence can be a difficult response when we are seeking answers, and Just Like Me is capitalizing on that spiritual vulnerability.
Continue the conversation: How does God answer your prayers?
2. Listening Party
What it is: Parents are feeding texts from their teens into AI to turn them into emo songs to post on TikTok and Instagram.
Why it’s so funny: Apparently, most suburban teens feel about Starbucks the way the band Taking Back Sunday felt about that one girl they were fighting over in Long Island. These teens’ text message threads function as a sort of stream-of-consciousness list of wants, needs, discomforts, displeasures, and so very many attempts to get a novelty drink. The “lyrics” of these AI-generated songs land somewhere in between a text you’d send to a friend and an “inside thought” you’d leave unexpressed—that is, unless you were a teenager texting with your mom.
Continue the conversation: If our family group chat were a song, what genre would it be?
3. Coachella Karaoke
What it is: Justin Bieber’s laid back, YouTube-filled, headlining Coachella performance has been sparking a lot of discussion.
Why it’s got people talking: Compared to Sabrina Carpenter’s high-production performance, which was complete with elaborate moving sets and wardrobe changes, Bieber’s show was practically bare bones. It’s hard not to compare the two. Yet, the artists are clearly going for different things. Carpenter has built her career around being over-the-top, flashy, and theatrical. Bieber’s recent work, on the other hand, has highlighted the more personal and stripped-back aspects of music. His Coachella performance, complete with an entire section where he (and his crowd) sang along with his own music videos on YouTube, felt like the type of thing you might do with your friends at a sleepover. It was karaoke, but doesn’t karaoke capture the joy of music?
Let’s translate this one further…
The summer camp I served at in high school hosted something we called “Porchside.” It was our own Coachella for the 40 or so people who served over the summer, and my best friend Mitch and I, acoustic guitar and anxious voices together, performed a song. Mitch and I have both gone on to lead worship in various capacities in the church (and still do, together!), but I don’t think I will ever forget the rawness and vulnerability of sitting on that porch and singing in front of our peers.
Music is a uniquely revealing and authentic art. It can also be artificially performative and filled with spectacle. While many might talk about the differences in expectations between Sabrina Carpenter and Justin Bieber last weekend, I think their different performances highlight a divide in music and culture more broadly.
Carpenter has built her career on over-the-top performances and spectacle, while Bieber exemplifies a more intimate sound. There’s something very down-to-earth and human about watching him pull up videos on YouTube to sing along to. It’s what you do when you’re a teen in your room, belting out the music you love that gets you in your feelings. It’s almost therapeutic. Both Carpenter and Bieber are making modern music, just in different ways. But is one more valuable than the other?
The tension between spectacle and intimacy in music also becomes apparent when you walk into a church service. While it might not be at the level of Sabrina Carpenter at Coachella, many churches have high production values and tightly choreographed worship. And sometimes, this can feel like a distraction from intimacy with God.
But, at their best, spectacle and awe can point us to reverence of and intimacy with the Lord. As musicologist Dr. Kelsey Kramer McGinnis points out, church history is full of transcendent spectacles. It includes grand cathedrals, Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus,” and Michelangelo’s paintings in the Sistine Chapel. It’s also marked by the solitude of monks and the devotion of nuns and the faithful, unseen pursuit of the Lord by remarkably unremarkable people. For teens, it’s important to invite them into different ways to be close to the Lord— to have a deep, intimate relationship with Him, but also to be inspired by His grandeur. As the Proverbs say, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…”
Our Roundtable podcast is taking a break this week while we dream and connect with our Axis community. (We’ll be back next week!) In the meantime, here are three questions to help you continue the conversation with your teens:
- What do you think of Justin Bieber singing along to YouTube videos as a concert?
- Would you rather have a fun, lighthearted conversation with someone or a deep, intimate one?
- Does quieter music or louder music at church help you feel closer to God? Are both valuable?
Parenting together,
CJ Fant and the Axis Team
In Other News…
- In a strange TikTok trend (as opposed to a normal one), young men are seeing how far they can run into Scientology centers for social media clout as they film themselves dodging security and sprinting deep into the buildings of the secretive pseudoreligion.
- The Drama, starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, is on track to become the fifth A24 title to cross the $100 million mark, according to IMDB.
- Sunrise on the Reaping, the latest Hunger Games movie installment, just dropped its official trailer. The film will be released on November 20, 2026.
- Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord, a new Star Wars animated series on Disney+, appears to be resonating with viewers. The show’s four episodes have already earned a 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes—better, even, than the finale of the original trilogy, Return of the Jedi.
- For several of the Artemis II astronauts, outer space was a religious experience. Pilot Victor Glover emphasized how special life on Earth really is in an Easter message sent from the craft, saying, “In all of this emptiness — this is a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call the universe — you have this oasis, this beautiful place that we get to exist (in) together.”
PS: Know someone who could use our conversation starters with their teens? Share the CT with a friend!