01/14/2026
THE TENSION WHERE TRUTH LIVES BLOG
01/14/2026
The Discipline of the Pause
Formation, Patterns, and Refusing Toxic Noise
I’ve been on social media almost as long as social media has existed. Long enough to know that what we’re seeing now—especially as it relates to the Church—feels different. Maybe it’s always been there. Maybe the environment has shifted. Maybe it’s both.
What I do know is this: the tone has become increasingly toxic.
Every issue feels urgent.
Every disagreement feels personal.
Every opinion feels weaponized.
And lately, I’ve felt myself being gently—but firmly—pulled away from that energy.
Not because I don’t have anything to say.
I do.
Not because I’m unaware of what’s happening.
I see it clearly.
But because I don’t feel assigned to own it, respond to it, or carry it in this season.
That realization has brought me peace.
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Not Every Silence Is Avoidance
There’s a difference between silence that comes from fear
and silence that comes from formation.
Some silence is immaturity.
Some silence is wisdom.
I’m learning that I don’t need to speak to everything I notice. I don’t need to correct every narrative. I don’t need to insert my voice just because I can.
Discernment is teaching me that clarity doesn’t always require commentary.
Sometimes the most faithful response is restraint.
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Formation vs. Pattern
Something else I’ve been sitting with is the difference between formation and pattern.
Patterns are convenient.
They allow us to repeat behaviors while cutting in and out what we don’t want to confront.
Patterns are predictable.
They let us respond without reflecting.
Formation is different.
Formation is slower.
Deeper.
More honest.
Formation doesn’t let you skip the uncomfortable parts. It doesn’t rush you to conclusions. It doesn’t reward you for being loud.
Formation asks you to stay.
To sit.
To listen.
To let things marinate.
That’s hard work—especially in a culture that values reaction over reflection.
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Choosing a Different Frequency
The noise is real.
The issues are real.
The dysfunction is real.
But not every real thing is mine to address.
I’m learning to protect my frequency—not out of arrogance, but out of obedience. To stay aligned with what God is forming in me now, not what others expect me to confront publicly.
There will be conversations I enter later.
There will be truths I speak in due time.
But today, my formation requires quiet clarity, not public commentary.
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Closing Reflection
Growth doesn’t always announce itself.
Sometimes it looks like pulling back.
Sometimes it looks like choosing peace over performance.
Sometimes it looks like letting things sit long enough for wisdom to mature.
I’m grateful for the season I’m in.
Grateful for discernment.
Grateful for the discipline of the pause.
And I’m learning that staying true to my assignment sometimes means saying nothing at all.
Thetensionwheretruthlives.org
Pastor Charles E. Howse Jr
Beth-El Baptist Church
Charles Howse
Wholeness 4 LIFE
