The Gift of Teaching: The Discerner

“if it is teaching, then teach” Romans 12:7

The Greek Word: Didasko  This is the origin of our word didactic. In the most reductive it means good at teaching. But the fullness of the word encompasses being able to discern complex information and distilling it into clear concepts. Ephesians 4:14 uses this word when warning us to not get “blown around on every wind of doctrine (diaskalia). This gift of discernment, is the ability to anchor in truth

Discerners are thinkers and processors. They lead with their heads and value information as a form of safety. Discerners thrive in taking on seemingly disparate threads of information and synthesizing them into a cohesive thought.  At their best, they are often pioneers ahead of their time. They have the ability to see the world in entirely new ways. 

Discerners value truth more than being right. They don’t get emotionally attached to an idea which makes it easier to adapt their life to the truth if the idea proves false. They’re pretty easy to spot in a crowd. They’re the ones standing on the edge of it, observing what’s going on.  They’re commonly entrepreneurs in areas where they are disrupting an industry or rethinking a way to do ministry.  They are great at teaching, software design, or a role that requires problem solving in complex situations like counseling or medical fields. 

Apollos was a thinker who helped others see old things in fresh ways. He was one of the most impacting figures in the early Church that you’ve never heard of.  And that’s clue number one that he was a Discerner. In Ephesus he “accurately taught things concerning Jesus.” (Acts 18:26) Accuracy is important for a Discerner. When it was brought to his attention that He had not fully discerned the Gospel, He changed and grew in his understanding.

In Achaia (in Corinth), Apollos “powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.”  (Acts 18:27) Showing educated Jews that Jesus was the one portended in the Old Testament was a sophisticated, intelligent, and complex topic to teach. Paul talked about Apollos as someone who “watered” what Paul had planted. That’s such great language for what a Discerner does. Water on a plant brings together the dirt and minerals into the seed and connects it all together to make something new.