Isabelle teaches the four questions to every apprentice at the Douala Hub in their first month: What is true in this? What is distorted or absent? What does this require of me? And what will I do with this? By the end of the first month, most apprentices are applying them instinctively. By the end of the first year, most are teaching them to people in their households. The four questions are the media literacy field guide that every household needs and almost none has. They transform the relationship to culture from passive consumption to active discernment.
"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things"
This week, apply the four questions to one piece of media. Write down one thing it required of you that you had not previously noticed.
The congregation that tells its members what to avoid without forming them to evaluate what they encounter is producing dependence rather than discernment. The four questions are the alternative to the banned list: instead of prohibiting specific content, they equip people to evaluate any content — to find the truth in it, name its distortions, receive its formation requirements, and act on what they receive.
- Families consuming media without evaluating it
- Churches issuing prohibitions rather than building discernment capacity
- A generation absorbing cultural formation from platforms designed to maximise engagement rather than serve their flourishing
1 John 4:1: Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. Testing the spirits is not a list of approved spirits. It is a practice of discernment applied to everything. The four questions are a specific form of that practice applied to cultural content.
The world produces media designed to maximise attention and emotional engagement — with no obligation to serve the audience's formation.
God calls His people to engage culture with the active discernment of those who know what truth looks like — finding it where it is present, naming its distortions, and receiving its requirements.
Philippians 4:8: Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. The Philippians filter is not a prohibition list. It is a discernment standard applied to what is already present.
"Lord, form me as a discerner of culture, not merely a consumer of it. Let what I engage with be evaluated, not only experienced. Let the four questions become a household practice. In Jesus' name, Amen."
| Time | Duty |
|---|---|
| 10:00 AM | Morning Prayer & Scripture |
| 7:00 PM | Evening Reflection & Journal |
| Daily | Act of Kingdom faithfulness |
You have been asking questions of everything else. Ask them of Him: What is true here? What does this require of me? The One who calls you does not fear examination — He invites it. Test Him today, and discover that what He asks of you is a life, and what He offers is His own. Turn to Him now!
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