Faithful witness begins with listening, prayer, and truth. (Pacific Northwest Conference Illustration)
Pacific Northwest Conference | Jan. 15, 2026
Everything about our public life right now is designed to provoke a reaction. Say it fast. Say it loud. Say it with confidence—even if the facts are still unfolding. Silence is treated as complicity, and restraint is mistaken for indifference.
I have no words.
Maybe you feel the same sometimes. If so, that is okay.
2026 has certainly gotten off to a start. That is probably the only nice thing I can say about it. I find myself struggling to find anything to say that would be helpful, redemptive…
Maybe it is okay to have no words. Sometimes.
Don’t read what I’m not writing.
I am 100% supportive of people marching for justice, love, peace, and sanity. I deeply value reporting, writing and art that help the public understand the chaos of the world around us.
But I wish we would all pause sometimes and ask, “Is the thing I am posting, sharing, or shouting true? Do I know it for certain? Is it helpful in this moment?”
The killing of Renee Nicole Good is deeply troubling to me. The aggressive immigration tactics of this administration are no less so.
Yet, the continuing erosion of truth as a shared value or principle keeps me up at night.
The willingness of Homeland Security and other Trump Administration officials to immediately declare Good a domestic terrorist, offered as a defense for her killing, is at best an unwarranted rush to judgment. I fear it is much worse.
Responsible governments respond differently. They might say that any death is tragic. They might say an investigation is needed to determine what really happened. They might ask the public to refrain from judgment and wait for all the facts to be considered. A responsible government would be less cruel.
The Trump Administration did the opposite—choosing narrative control over transparency. But do we need to do the same?
2026 is certainly off to a start, and I fear that we are all being driven to consume it as if the world were a social media platform. The hottest takes are rewarded. Anger and vitriol are currency. Truth and decency are casualties. This is not a neutral environment for people who have been formed by the gospel.
In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus encourages his disciples to be “wise as snakes and innocent as doves” as they navigate persecution and strife. Jesus essentially tells them they should expect persecution, even death, and yet he asks them not to sacrifice their integrity.
Jesus’ words reminded me of something Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth offered to those assembled at Edmonds UMC in October for the United in Faith gathering hosted there.
“In this season, we must think strategically, work collaboratively, strategize intersectionally, and do it underground.” He reminds us that a faithful response demands more than volume and quick reflexes.
While silence isn’t a faithful response to injustice and the suffering of our neighbors, all words aren’t created equal. Many words are noise, and some can be quite detrimental.
Jesus asks us to be both wise and innocent. Sometimes, wisdom may require us to pause, stop short, and wait until we have something honest, factual, and worthwhile to contribute.
We should resist measuring the truth and efficacy of what we consume, what we choose to believe, and what we offer to others by the clicks, likes or reposts it merits. As the saying goes, a lie will go round the world while truth is pulling its boots on.
Again, don’t hear what I’m not saying.
This is a time to speak out. Amid turmoil and potential threat, Jesus doesn’t call his disciples to retreat to the imagined safety of their sanctuaries.
But we should never sacrifice truth and the integrity of our faith for a Pyrrhic victory. Adopting the tactics of those who hold truth in such contempt is tantamount to surrender.
Sometimes, it is okay to have no words.
Sometimes, we need to stop speaking and reacting so that we can truly listen and discern what God would have us do next.
Listen. Verify. Pray. And then act in faith with compassion as Jesus would.
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Patrick Scriven is a husband who married well, a father of three amazing girls, and a seminary-educated layperson working professionally in The United Methodist Church. Scriven serves the Pacific Northwest Conference as Director of Communications.