I like Carey Nieuwhof. I listento his podcast to and from work sometimes. This week, I had the occasion of a detour trip and used the time to listen to Carey and his gues, jenni Catron of the 4Sight Group discuss Signs of a Toxic Culture (You can check it out here: Sign of a Toxic Culture Episode). Jenni was telling her story of being in a culture where she was a person of great influence, but something was off. This offness eventually led to an implosion of the entire ministry. But during the conversation in the podcast, I kept hearing her use one word over and over…DISCERNMENT. We’ve heard the word a thousand times from the pulpit, but do we understand what it is? Let’s get a working definition. Discernment is loosely defined as: to perceive by the sight or some other sense or by the intellect; see, recognize, or apprehend; to distinguish mentally; recognize as distinct or different; to discriminate. What does scripture say about discernment? Spiritually, discernment is insight into the spiritual realm. “The sound judgment which makes possible the distinguishing of good from evil, and the recognition of God’s right ways for his people. It is necessary for the understanding of spiritual realities and, on a practical level, for right government and the avoidance of life’s pitfalls.”(Logos). So… sound judgement. Let’s add to that a bit. Sound judgement about spiritual matters. Sounds like something important to have, right? In fact every blood bought believer has a measure of discernment that we should be utilizing. Some folks call it our “knower”, others just relegate it to being the Holy Spirit leading and guiding us. However, here’s the problem. Jenni recounts seeing things in the senior leadership circle that she couldn’t quite put her finger on, but knew something was “off”. The problem that Jenni and way too many saints have is that we have put the gift of discernment on the back burner of “not offending” Because discernment causes us to confront, we lean way too often on the “let’s be loving” side. But we forget, that often times Agape, Godly love is called to confront, speak up and be change agents. One of my favorite stories in Scripture is in Acts chapter 16, the damsel with a spirit of divination. Scripture recounts that she “vexed them for many days”(vs 18).  The reason this story is so poignant, is because Paul and his team were in the middle of a ministry campaign when this occured. Notice what they DID NOT do. They did not slap a title on her and give her a platform. No, they went to praying! Quite the opposite of what we see occuring in too many of our churches  and ministries today.  Discernment tells you that something is not right. It’s that thing that helps you rightly divide. It’s the thing that should help you flee spiritually dangerous people, things, and places. The problem is we haven’t been taught by leaders to use what we’ve been given. Or if we use it, we are often accused of being divisive or not a team player. What a shame! Don’t diss discernment folks, it may save you from destruction and heartache, misery and woe. In Jenni’s case, she left the toxic culture. I have my own tale of woe as well. Use the gift that God has given. It’s a frontline defensive weapon against the wiles of the enemy. Dont’ diss discernment!