{"id":24715,"date":"2026-03-11T12:24:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T19:24:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greaternw.org\/news\/?p=24715"},"modified":"2026-03-11T12:24:46","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T19:24:46","slug":"what-is-your-change-theory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greaternw.org\/news\/what-is-your-change-theory\/","title":{"rendered":"What is your change theory?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is your change theory?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s a question that has been percolating in my mind for several years now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A March 2026 Pew Research Center survey<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While this survey didn’t surprise me, it still saddens me. Spend a few moments on social media, and you’ll find ample evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I believe that authentic relationships \u2014 particularly those across difference \u2014 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a> (Make America Healthy Again) members and finding more common ground than she expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jetelina’s willingness to sit across from people she disagreed with \u2014 and to be changed by the encounter \u2014 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So again: what is your change theory? Is it at work in your church?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this reflection, Patrick Scriven wrestles with a deceptively simple question: what is your change theory? Drawing on a 2026 Pew Research study showing Americans are uniquely pessimistic about their fellow citizens’ morals, Scriven argues that authentic relationships across difference \u2014 not social media debate \u2014 are the most credible path to changing hearts and minds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24716,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85,74,16],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-24715","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-conversation","8":"category-opinioneditorial","9":"category-pacific-northwest-conference"},"yoast_head":"\nWhat is your change theory? - Greater Northwest Area | News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/greaternw.org\/news\/what-is-your-change-theory\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is your change theory? - Greater Northwest Area | News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In this reflection, Patrick Scriven wrestles with a deceptively simple question: what is your change theory? 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