America: Kumbaya Won’t Cut It (And Other Hot Takes)

The cultural divide may be loud, but the deeper fracture runs through our sanctuaries and our hearts: a tug toward the “safe middle” masquerading as wisdom. We take a hard, honest look at why neutrality feels compassionate yet so often becomes compromise, and why the gospel’s call is not to balance but to holiness, courage, and discipleship. Without leaning on party labels, we press into kingdom alignment—justice, mercy, and humility from Micah 6:8—as a practical compass for navigating issues that refuse to fit tidy political boxes.

We unpack the difference between false unity and true unity, naming the temptation to paper over convictions to keep the peace. Silence can buy calm, but it can’t build character. Unity without truth is denial; unity with truth is costly love. From Revelation’s warning against lukewarm faith to Jesus’ charge that no one can serve two masters, we challenge the urge to dilute convictions for applause or avoid offense at the expense of integrity. Pastors aren’t called to be the middle ground; they’re called to shepherd toward repentance and faith. Believers aren’t called to be popular; we’re called to be faithful.

Along the way, we offer plain guidance for holding a biblical center that doesn’t collapse into partisanship or drift into vagueness: let Scripture shape your stance, speak truth with mercy, distinguish essentials from preferences, and accept that conviction may cost comfort. The church doesn’t need hotter takes; it needs hearts on fire for Christ. If this message pushes you, share it with someone who’s tired of the middle and ready to follow Jesus with clarity and courage. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us: where is God calling you to stand firm today?

Chapters

• 0:00 The Great Divide Hits the Church
• 2:05 Lukewarm Faith and False Neutrality
• 4:10 Kingdom Over Parties: Micah 6:8
• 6:00 False Unity vs True Unity
• 8:15 Calling Pastors and Believers to Courage
• 9:45 Final Challenge and Call to Action

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:09

Hello and welcome back to Uncomfortable Race where I'm Cody and today it's just me. But I will say today's episode is going to I'm pinning this one. America, the great divide. Left, right, conservative, and progressive, red and blue, and the worst part, that divide has crept right into the church. I read about a pastor recently who said in his church newsletter, I know I have people on the left and people on the right. I'm pastor to both. So I'm on both sides. Now listen, I understand the heart behind that. He wants to care for everybody. But let's be honest. That's not true Christianity. Because here's the thing: God never called his people to saddle the fence. He never called us to be lukewarm. Revelation 316 says that if you're lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, he will spit you out. Jesus himself said, You cannot serve two masters. At some point, the church has to stop pretending neutrality is faithfulness. So let's start right here. Because this is where the rot begins, if you will. Here's the uncomfortable truth. Fence sitting is compromise. Hot take, I know. It's compromise dressed up as compassion. Saying I'm on both sides might sound kind, but it's really cowardice. Because what you're saying is that when there's there's a clear biblical side and a side that rejects God's word, you would rather be in the middle than be on fire for God. And I get it. No pastor wants to alienate their people, no believer wants to stir conflict. But let's be real. The gospel is offensive. Truth divides light from darkness. And if you're trying so hard not to offend that you blur the lines, you're not preaching Jesus anymore. You're preaching comfort. So if fence sitting won't cut it, then what does faithfulness look like? Now, listen, I'm not talking about being a Republican Christian or a Democrat Christian. I'm talking about being a biblical Christian. Micah 6.8 says, He has shown you, O man, what is good and what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. That is not left or right. That's kingdom. But sometimes, if we're honest, the kingdom is going to line up more closely with the one side of an issue than the other. And in those moments, it's not faithfulness to say, Well, I'm neutral. I'm in the middle. No. Faithfulness is standing on the side of justice, mercy, and truth, even if it costs you your relationship, your reputation, or members in the pew. Neutrality is not holiness. Neutrality is compromise. And this is where people push back. They'll say, Hey, but Cody, Cody, come on, slow down, man. We've got to stay united. Well, let's talk about that. There's a huge difference between false unity and true unity. False unity is when leaders say, let's just not talk about it. Let's just hold hands and sing kumbaya and pretend everything is fine, you know? Is kind of the money uh python scene, you know, uh it's merely just a flesh wound, but you're gushing out at the knee. No, that's that's not unity, that's denial. True unity comes when we love across uh across differences, but refuse to compromise the essentials. Wesley said, um, Wesley said in his sermon Um The Catholic Spirit, though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike. Yes, we can love one another even when we disagree on non-essentials. But love does not mean compromise. Love doesn't mean silence in the face of sin. Love means truth spoken with mercy. The church is not called to be, it's not called to be split into parties. We're called to be one body, united under Christ, and unity with truth, and unity with God, and unity without truth is not unity. This is a hot take, but it's a delusion. So where does that leave us? It leaves us with a choice. We're given choices, so tons of choices. Jesus never said, Blessed are the balance. He said, Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. The Bible never calls us to moderation, it calls us to holiness, to boldness, to a cross. So let me speak plain because maybe someone's confused somewhere. If you are a pastor, your job is not to please the left or the right, your job is to please the Lord. Your calling is not to be everyone's safe middle ground, your calling is to be uh to to call people to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. And listen, if you're a believer listening to this, you cannot be on both sides, you cannot be hot and cold at the same time, you cannot serve Christ and culture, you cannot live for applause and claim the cross. The world doesn't need lukewarm Christians, the world doesn't need half truths, the world needs a church on fire for God. Period. The end. That's not even a hot take. That's the truth. So let me land this plane. America is divided. The church is divided, but the gospel is not divided. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism. And here's the choice we all face. You can sit in the middle, saddle that fence, and be lukewarm, or you can choose the side of Christ, the side of scripture, the side of truth. Neutrality is not love, comprenomise is not holiness, balance is not obedience. Jesus is not calling for fence sitters, he's calling for disciples on fire. Period. The end. Think about that. Cause I'm gonna leave you with that. So thanks for joining me today on Uncomfortable Grace. If this hit you, share it with someone who needs to stop living in the middle. Let's be the church that doesn't flinch, doesn't compromise, and doesn't apologize for standing on the word of God. But as always is my call to you. Stay faithful, stay uncomfortable, and stay. And John Wesley would say the best of all is Christ. I would say had that right, but even better is God is not done with you yet. Amen.