A PERSONAL COLLECTION
Selected work
Ideas, words,
gatherings, and tools.
I’m an eclectic nerd.
One sensible specialty would probably have been easier.
I write, lead worship, and make useful little systems with AI collaborators.
Academic writing
Faith, power, and the lives we make possible.
The Color of Compromise
A review of Jemar Tisby’s The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism.
René Velarde · Transformation
38(2), 186–188
Full text through the publisher; access may require a subscription.
Poetry
For what refuses a tidy explanation.
Ministry & music
Words and songs in the company of other people.
More than a decade as a pastor, worship leader, and educator is part of the work, too. These recordings come from that life in community.
New Again cohortVisit New AgainWorship at Mariners AnaheimChristmas, 2025.Watch video
The recording is also available directly on YouTube.
Only King ForeverLCBC York, 2014.Watch video
The recording is also available directly on YouTube.
Love Don’t DieLCBC, 2014. Easter gathering opening song.Watch video
The recording is also available directly on YouTube.
Your Love is a SongFirst Presbyterian Church, Salinas, CA, 2010.Watch video
The recording is also available directly on YouTube.
Useful little systems
AI, algorithms, and a few things I wanted to make easier.
I develop these projects with AI collaborators. I focus on the problem, how the tool should feel to use, and checking what comes back.
Some use AI to work with language. Others use algorithms: sets of rules for sorting information or doing the math. The point is a tool a person can understand.
An inbox with a little judgment.
A workflow that sorts incoming email, flags messages that need a person, and turns useful messages into readable notes. A little less digging through the inbox.
Inside the project
Simple rules handle the predictable sorting. AI helps interpret the messages that need more context. Important messages can be set aside for human review.
My part. I defined what should be surfaced, what could be handled by a rule, and which mistakes were unacceptable.
Project notes · September 2026. Built around my own email routine. The newer replacement was still in development at this stage.
Personal workflow
A desk for the things in my head.
Tasks, notes, and conversations with an AI assistant in one place. A way to decide what needs attention now, what can wait, and where I need help.
Inside the project
The work stays visible while the assistant helps organize the next step. It is a shared workspace for a person and their tools.
My part. I shaped the workflow and interface, defined what the assistant could do, and reviewed the results.
Project notes · September 2026. Working versions for personal use, with broader team use left to explore.
Private project
An assistant I can actually talk to.
A voice interface for my AI assistant, Noti. I can begin with a spoken thought instead of another text box.
Inside the project
The experiment is about making conversation easier while keeping the context of the existing assistant. Timing, interruptions, and getting the full response matter.
My part. I defined the experience and tested revisions—especially the awkward silences, cut-off sentences, and lag.
Project notes · September 2026. A private voice pilot, with further testing needed on phones.
Private pilot
A second look at an options trade.
A screen that puts a stock chart, an option contract, and the what-if math beside each other. It helps me compare scenarios and see what information is missing.
Inside the project
An algorithm is a set of rules for working through a problem. Here, the rules compare supplied option candidates and calculate scenarios; AI assistants can request the analysis.
My part. Part of my experiments with AI-assisted tools for making complicated information easier to inspect.
Project notes · September 2026. A research prototype with experimental estimates. It analyzes supplied candidates and has no controls for placing trades.
Research prototype
Say it once. Work with the words.
A tool that turns a recording into text that different AI assistants can work with. The goal is to reuse one useful capability across several projects.
Inside the project
It connects the recording to its returned transcript so the result can be checked against the original. Different assistants can request the same kind of job.
My part. I set the goal and cost constraints, supplied a voice memo, tested the result, and pushed for easier access.
Project notes · September 2026. Initial trials were completed. Access and dependable unattended use needed more work.
Experimental tool
My consulting work lives at Luminosa AI.