Jeremy Haroldson addresses the fourth gift in the Five Fold series—and admits upfront: "In the Charismatic/Pentecostal movement, this gift often gets the short end of the stick." Why? Because "teaching isn't always flashy. It doesn't always make you run around the room. It doesn't always make you cry."
But here's Jeremy's urgent correction: "Without the Educator [Teacher], the organization has no foundation." The ancient term Didaskalos means master, instructor, doctor—but biblically, it's not just information download. It's instruction for life. This teaching reclaims the Educator's actual function: not platform performance, but grounding truth so structures don't collapse from width without depth.
Jeremy provides quick functional clarity: "The Architect establishes, the Visionary guides, the Connector gathers, the Shepherd guards. The Educator grounds." [Apostle/Prophet/Evangelist/Pastor/Teacher]
Each role serves distinct purpose. The Educator's job? Grounding. Not inspiring emotion or launching initiatives or providing care. Grounding people in foundational truth so they don't drift, collapse, or fall for lies.
Jeremy anchors the Educator's necessity in ancient wisdom: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." (Hosea 4:6)
His commentary is direct: "It doesn't say they are destroyed for lack of transformative experiences [miracles]. It doesn't say they are destroyed for lack of passion." They're destroyed because "they don't know the Truth. And when you don't know the Truth, you will fall for a lie every single time."
This is the Educator's burden: organizations full of enthusiasm but devoid of accurate understanding will self-destruct. Energy without knowledge creates chaos. Passion without truth creates deception. The Educator prevents this catastrophe by providing cognitive foundations that sustain the entire system.
Jeremy identifies the Educator's distinctive psychology: "The Educator is the one who loves foundational principles [the Word of God] more than they love the platform."
They're wired differently. "They are the ones who get excited about the nuances of language and precise meanings." [tenses of verbs and Greek prepositions] Why this obsession? Not to be smart. But because accuracy matters.
The Educator serves as "the plumb line of the Five Fold Ministry." A plumb line ensures vertical alignment—that what's being built stays true to foundation. Without this function, organizations drift into error while believing they're on course. The Educator says, "Wait—that doesn't align with core principles. We're tilting."
Jeremy delivers a sobering warning: "The Educator is arguably the most dangerous gift if it is not operated in higher guidance [the Holy Spirit]."
He quotes the ancient principle: "The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." (2 Corinthians 3:6) Then the devastating diagnosis: "An Educator without higher guidance is a Pharisee."
What happens? "They become legalistic. They become judgmental. They use foundational principles as a sword to hurt people rather than a scalpel to heal people." The Educator's strength—precision with truth—becomes weaponized. Knowledge becomes ammunition for control instead of illumination for freedom.
But the redemptive alternative: "A Spirit-led Educator? They bring light into darkness. They unlock chains with the Truth." Same gift, radically different application. One destroys through rigid correctness; the other liberates through compassionate accuracy.
Jeremy uses a developmental metaphor to show ecosystem interdependence: "The Connector births the baby [Evangelist]. The Shepherd holds the baby [Pastor]. The Educator feeds the baby so it can grow up."
Each function is necessary but insufficient alone. You need initial engagement (Connector), relational care (Shepherd), and substantive nourishment (Educator). Skip the feeding function? The "baby" stays infantile—emotionally dependent, cognitively undeveloped.
Jeremy reinforces the substance metaphor: "You cannot survive on spiritual cotton candy your whole life." Organizations that only provide emotional highs create "diabetic members—highs and lows, highs and lows."
The Educator gives "the steak. They give you the substance that allows you to stand when the storm comes." [meat vs. milk] When crisis arrives, emotion won't sustain you. Accurate understanding will.
Jeremy identifies the cultural pressure: "We live in a time of 'ear-tickling' doctrine. People want to hear what makes them feel good."
The Educator's counter-cultural stance: "The Educator doesn't care about your feelings; the Educator cares about your freedom." This sounds harsh until you understand the principle Jeremy quotes: "You will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free." (John 8:32)
Comfortable lies create bondage. Uncomfortable truth creates liberation. The Educator chooses freedom over comfort, even when that choice makes them unpopular. They're the safeguard against doctrinal drift—the function that says, "That sounds appealing, but is it accurate?"
Jeremy describes the Educator's balancing function within the ecosystem:
With Visionaries [Prophets]: "The Visionary tends to fly high in the clouds; the Educator grabs their ankle and pulls them back to foundational principles [Scripture]." The Educator asks: "That sounds great, but is it grounded in core truth?"
Visionaries see possibilities; Educators ensure those possibilities align with established reality. One provides inspiration; the other provides validation.
With Architects [Apostles]: "The Architect wants to build big; the Educator wants to build deep." The critical insight: "If you build wide without building deep, the structure collapses."
Architects focus on expansion; Educators focus on foundation. "The Educator ensures the depth matches the width." You can't scale what isn't structurally sound. The Educator prevents catastrophic collapse by insisting on foundational integrity before expansion.
Jeremy names the Educator's greatest vulnerability: "If you have the gift of teaching, your greatest enemy is pride."
The ancient warning is direct: "Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." (1 Corinthians 8:1) Jeremy's application cuts deep: "You have to love the people you are teaching more than the knowledge you are teaching them."
The diagnostic question: "If you are right, but you are mean, you are wrong."
Educators can become intoxicated by their own precision. They're correct—and cruel. They win arguments—and lose people. The solution? Love must moderate accuracy. Not compromise truth, but deliver it with compassion. Right information delivered wrongly becomes harmful, not helpful.
Jeremy expands the vision beyond religious settings: "We need Educators to rise up. Not just in organizational meetings [Sunday School]."
Where else? "We need Educators in our school boards. We need Educators in universities. We need Educators writing the curriculum." Why? Because "whoever controls the teaching controls the future."
This is power dynamics 101: The function that shapes foundational understanding determines trajectories. If you control what people learn early, you influence what they believe later. Educators aren't just information deliverers—they're culture architects.
Jeremy closes with the Educator's transformative capacity: "If you are an Educator, your calling is to take the complex mysteries and make them digestible for the organization." [Body of Christ]
The metaphor is perfect: "You are the one who turns the light switch on." Suddenly, what was confusing becomes clear. What was obscure becomes accessible. What was theoretical becomes applicable.
The result? "When that light goes on, people stop walking in darkness. That is the power of the Teaching gift."
Darkness isn't just ignorance—it's disorientation. People stumble, collide, get lost. The Educator illuminates pathways, reveals obstacles, provides orientation. Not through emotion or inspiration, but through clarity of understanding.
The Educator role will never be the flashiest. It won't generate the emotional highs of breakthrough moments or the inspiration of visionary clarity. But without grounding, everything collapses. Organizations built wide without depth are structurally unstable—impressive from a distance, catastrophic up close.
The Educator's burden is precision: loving foundational truth more than platform applause, getting excited about accuracy when others want entertainment. They're the plumb line ensuring vertical alignment, the safeguard preventing doctrinal drift, the function that says "that's not accurate" when comfort demands agreement.
But this precision becomes dangerous when divorced from compassion. Educators without higher guidance become Pharisees—legalistic, judgmental, weaponizing truth to control instead of liberate. The character requirement is non-negotiable: love people more than knowledge. If you're right but mean, you're wrong.
The ecosystem needs Educators balancing other functions: pulling Visionaries back to foundational principles, ensuring Architects build deep before building wide, providing substantive nourishment after Connectors create initial engagement and Shepherds provide care. Without this grounding, organizations run on cotton candy—emotional highs without cognitive substance.
The cultural necessity extends beyond organizational settings. Whoever controls teaching controls the future. Educators writing curriculum, serving on school boards, teaching in universities aren't just delivering information—they're shaping entire trajectories. The light switch function—making complex mysteries digestible—determines whether people walk in clarity or stumble in darkness.
If you're an Educator exhausted by being overlooked, remember: flashy isn't foundational. Your role prevents collapse. Your precision ensures depth matches width. Your grounding creates stability when storms arrive. The organization might celebrate emotional experiences more loudly, but they'll rely on your substance when crisis tests structural integrity.
Perfect for:
Because Educators without higher guidance become Pharisees—legalistic, judgmental, weaponizing truth to hurt instead of heal. Precision without compassion creates bondage, not freedom. But Spirit-led Educators bring light into darkness and unlock chains with truth. Same gift, opposite outcomes depending on whether love moderates accuracy.
With Visionaries: Pull them back to foundational principles, asking "is this grounded in core truth?" With Architects: Ensure depth matches width—"if you build wide without deep, the structure collapses." Visionaries provide inspiration; Educators provide validation. Architects focus on expansion; Educators focus on foundation. Both balances prevent catastrophic drift or collapse.
Because grounding doesn't generate emotional highs, but it prevents collapse. Teaching won't make you "run around the room or cry," but without it organizations have no foundation. Flashy creates temporary excitement; substance creates lasting stability. People destroyed for "lack of knowledge," not lack of emotion. Educators provide the "steak" allowing you to stand when storms come.
Educators' greatest enemy is pride—becoming intoxicated by their own precision. "Knowledge puffs up" when you love information more than people. "Love builds up" when you deliver accurate truth compassionately. The diagnostic: "If you're right but mean, you're wrong." Solution: love people you're teaching more than knowledge you're teaching them.
Key Historical References: Hosea 4:6, John 8:32, 1 Corinthians 8:1, Ephesians 4:11 (Ancient wisdom texts)
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge... You will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free... Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up... And leadership gave some to be architects, some visionaries, some connectors, some shepherds, and some educators—to equip people for work of service, so that the body may be built up in truth and love."