And address I never delivered, but wanted to

“The Tools Are Yours. Now Your Character Matters.”

Pepperdine University Commencement Address

President, faculty, families, friends — and most importantly, graduates —

Congratulations.

Today represents years of discipline, sacrifice, growth, doubt, resilience, and perseverance. You earned this moment. And the people sitting behind you — your parents, your families, your friends — they earned a piece of it too.

Somewhere along the way, someone probably told you:

“The world is yours.”

It’s one of the most hopeful phrases we give graduates.

It means possibility.

It means opportunity.

It means the future is open.

But today, I want to gently update that phrase.

Because you are graduating into a world unlike any generation before you.

You are stepping into the age of artificial intelligence.

An age where answers are instant.

Where knowledge is everywhere.

Where technology can do in seconds what once took years.

The tools available to you are extraordinary.

But here’s the truth:

The tools are not what will define you.

Your character will.

There was a time when education itself was the advantage. If you had knowledge, you stood apart. If you had access, you moved ahead.

Today, access is assumed.

Nearly everyone can generate answers.

Nearly everyone can create content.

Nearly everyone can move fast.

So the question has shifted.

It’s no longer:

“Can you do it?”

It’s:

“Should you?”

And that is a question technology cannot answer for you.

Because technology amplifies intent.

It makes you louder.

It makes you faster.

It makes you more capable.

But it does not make you wiser.

That still comes from something older.

From family.

From faith.

From community.

From discipline.

From the quiet decisions you make when no one is watching.

I learned this in a way I didn’t expect.

Not in a classroom.

Not in a boardroom.

Not during some breakthrough in my career.

I learned it at my kitchen table.

A few years ago, I was deep into systems and automation — fascinated by efficiency, by speed, by how much could be done in so little time. I had my laptop open one evening, solving problems that felt urgent.

My family was in the next room.

My wife walked by and asked something simple.

She didn’t criticize. She didn’t complain.

She just said, “Are you here?”

Not physically.

But really here.

And that question stopped me.

Because technology had made me efficient.

It had made me capable.

It had made me responsive.

But it had not made me present.

And presence cannot be automated.

You can delegate tasks.

You cannot delegate attention.

You can scale productivity.

You cannot scale love.

That moment reshaped how I think about this era.

You are entering a world that will reward speed.

Move fast.

Respond fast.

Adapt fast.

But the things that truly matter in life have never been fast.

Trust is slow.

Commitment is slow.

Marriage is slow.

Raising children is slow.

Serving your local community is slow.

Showing up for your parents as they age is slow.

And none of those things can be replaced by a tool.

No algorithm can love your spouse for you.

No system can raise your children for you.

No platform can build trust in your neighborhood for you.

The age of AI will reward efficiency.

But life will reward faithfulness.

And faithfulness is not flashy.

It is consistent.

It is patient.

It is dependable.

As you leave here today, you will carry ambition. That’s good.

You will carry talent. That’s good.

You will carry access to tools that can open doors quickly.

But I hope you also carry something deeper:

A commitment to your family.

A commitment to your local community.

A commitment to becoming someone others can rely on.

Because long after the excitement of new technology fades, what will remain are your relationships.

Long after platforms change, what will remain is your reputation.

Long after systems evolve, what will remain is how you treated people.

You may work with intelligent systems.

You may use them in your careers.

But the measure of your life will not be your output.

It will be your integrity.

It will be whether your children trust you.

Whether your spouse respects you.

Whether your community knows you show up.

Whether your word means something.

In every generation, there is a defining shift.

For yours, it is intelligent systems.

But history will not remember your generation for the tools you used.

It will remember you for the values you kept.

So build your careers.

Build your dreams.

Build your futures.

But build your lives first.

Be present.

Be faithful.

Be the kind of people your children will one day thank God for.

Because the tools are yours.

Now your character matters.

Congratulations, Class of 2026.

The future is watching.

(Pause.)

Thank you.