Photo Courtesy of Pacific Northwest Conference
Pacific Northwest Conference | March 11, 2026
What is your change theory?
It's a question that has been percolating in my mind for several years now.
A March 2026 Pew Research Center survey of 25 nations found the U.S. uniquely pessimistic: 53% of Americans view their fellow citizens as having "bad" morals, the lowest rating of all countries surveyed. In contrast, 92% of Canadians rated compatriots positively. The negative American view is driven largely by political polarization, with Democrats more likely than Republicans to view fellow Americans negatively.
While this survey didn't surprise me, it still saddens me. Spend a few moments on social media, and you'll find ample evidence.
I believe that authentic relationships — particularly those across difference — are a critical tool for changing hearts and minds. When relationships are authentic and open, the hearts and minds that change aren't preordained; they may be ours.
When a majority of us believe our fellow citizens have "bad" morals, it's difficult to imagine many of us nurturing relationships with people who see the world quite differently. How do we imagine we can effect change? Hot takes on social media?
Then I came across an unlikely example. Katelyn Jetelina, an epidemiologist with strong feelings about the dismantling of our public health infrastructure, describes meeting with a local group of MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) members and finding more common ground than she expected.
Jetelina's willingness to sit across from people she disagreed with — and to be changed by the encounter — is a change theory in action. It may not scale easily, but it scales the only way things ever really do, one relationship at a time.
So again: what is your change theory? Is it at work in your church?
Patrick Scriven is Director of Communications for the Pacific Northwest Conference of The United Methodist Church. This post is republished with permission from PNW News Digest.