- Larry Lundstrom is a pastor in rural Arkansas.
- It uses artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT and Tome to create presentations for side businesses.
- Here’s Larry’s story, told to Insider’s Lakshmi Varanasi.
I’ve spent the majority of my career with a fairly idiosyncratic job title: innovation pastor.
There are only a few of us in the country – in the world, in fact.
This means that I am an ordained pastor, so I officiate at weddings, conduct funerals, and preach sermons.
But I also spent years developing marketing campaigns, creating websites, and leading the church’s design department.
I spend about 40-60 hours a week as a pastor, and most of that time I spend preparing for my weekly sermon.
But I pass another 10 to 20 hours on creative side projects. Often this involves creating presentations, logos or websites for businesses. My clients range from companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX to fintech startup Chime.
For years, Microsoft PowerPoint and Adobe InDesign were my go-to tools. Now I rely on AI tools like the new chatbot, ChatGPTand the storytelling tool, Tome, for my creative work.
These tools are useful if you can maintain balance and not rely on them as shortcuts. In the end, what’s important is that your work stays true to who you are.
It all comes down to “creation”
I grew up in a family of believers. My grandmother and my mother were women of faith, but they didn’t beat me over the head with this.
It was my decision to believe in God.
I choose to believe that someone created the mountains; that someone created our ability to see – and someone created our ability to create.
It’s funny how everything boils down to this idea of creation. In a way, creation has been a central subject of my whole life. I’ve always thought of myself as a creator – an artist, really.
I’ve been designing logos and graphics since I was in high school. In college I started building websites, and soon I got pretty good at it too.
Yet the dots between my faith and my work didn’t really connect until I became a father. When my son, Colby, was only three years old, he stopped walking out of the blue.
A few weeks later, he was diagnosed with leukemia. He died 11 days later.
It was one of those times when time stood still, and my priorities suddenly changed. I realized I could do the same job I was doing for the church instead of a marketing company. So I left the corporate world and a new chapter began.
AI tools cut my turnaround time in half
Larry Lundstrom and his wife, Myra, outside their home in Arkansas.
Larry Lundstrom
After years of designing everything from websites to college football logos, my creative work is now limited to freelance.
I use sites like Upwork to advertise my skills. I also have a rolodex of clients that I’ve built up over my career who still commission projects from me.
Before the dawn of AI tools, it would probably take me a week – 40 full hours – to put together a pitch deck from start to finish.
Now I can assemble a game in half that time. AI tools have made my creative process more efficient. I spend more time on the facets of my work that make the most difference to my client or my audience.
I charge between $500 and $1,000 for a terrace and I earn two to three a week.
For me, it’s not really a question of money. It’s about having a side hustle that keeps me financially stable and allows me to focus on what really matters: staying creative.