America: Kumbaya Won’t Cut It (Part 2)

Safe Christianity feels polite, but it quietly hollows out the church. We go straight at the myth of the “mushy middle,” naming why neutrality isn’t holiness, why fence‑sitting masquerades as compassion, and how America’s culture wars have discipled too many pulpits. Without picking a party, we anchor the conversation in Scripture—Micah 6:8, Revelation 3:16, Matthew 6:24—and lay out a kingdom standard that sometimes lands clearly on one side of an issue, not because of politics but because of obedience.

We unpack the difference between false unity and true unity. False unity keeps the peace by silencing essentials and calling it love. True unity holds firm to the cross, Scripture, and holiness while loving across non‑essentials—methods, styles, and traditions—so our shared obedience becomes a living witness. From the loss of credibility with the next generation to a weakened witness before a watching world, we trace what’s at stake when the church mirrors the outrage machine instead of resisting it with conviction and charity.

There’s hope threaded through this hard word. Jesus doesn’t pray prayers that can’t be answered, and his plea for oneness still bears fruit when believers repent of tribal identity and choose the kingdom way—feeding the hungry together, praying past pride, and choosing reconciliation over gossip. The choice is stark but life‑giving: safe religion or faithful allegiance; balanced optics or bold obedience. If your heart longs for a church with a spine and a tenderness shaped by the gospel, press play, share this with a friend who needs courage, and then tell us: where are you standing today? Subscribe, leave a review, and join us as we keep choosing Christ over comfort.

Chapters

• 0:09 Why the Middle Isn’t Holy
• 3:15 America’s Fractures Mirror the Church
• 7:35 Kingdom over Parties: Truth First
• 9:47 False Unity vs True Unity
• 12:30 What’s at Stake if We Compromise
• 16:05 Hope for Real Unity in Christ
• 18:12 Bold Faith Beats Safe Religion
• 19:09 Final Charge and Blessing

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:09

Hello, and welcome back to Uncomfortable Grace, where truth and birth in today. Not long ago, in fact, it was last week, I released a short episode, about ten minutes, called America Kumbaya Won't Cut It. In it I laid down the truth that being in the middle isn't holiness, it's compromise. That Jesus didn't call us to straddle fences or play safe, but to stand firmly on his truth. And after that episode, I had people reach out. Some said it got them thinking, some said it made them uncomfortable, and honestly, that's the point of this podcast. But what I also know, even as I recorded it, was that I had barely scratched the surface. So today we're going to do a deeper dive. We're going to look at America's fractures, how those fractures have invaded the church, why neutrality is deadly, and what real unity in Christ actually looks like. And we're going to talk about what's at stake if we keep playing games with the gospel. You've probably heard pastors or leaders say something like this. I know there are people on the left in the church, and I know there are people on the right. I'm pastored both. So I'm on both sides. Now, I get it. I really do. That sounds very compassionate. It sounds even wise. It sounds like the leader is trying to avoid division. But let's let's tell the truth. Being on both sides is not faithfulness, it's fence sitting. And here's the uncomfortable part. Fence sitting is compromised dressed up as compassion. I mean, really, just think about it. The middle ground between truth and lies is still lies. The middle ground between holiness and sin. Well, I think it's still sin. The middle ground between light and darkness, guess what? Is still darkness. Fence sitting looks like peacekeeping, but it's actually cowardice. It blurs the very lions God Himself drew. Revelation three sixteen, I think you know it. I quoted it last week. It says, Because you were lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. Jesus didn't mince words. He'd rather you be hot or cold than live in the mushy, mushy, messy middle. In Matthew six twenty four, Jesus says, No one can serve two masters. Either you'll hate the one and love the other, or you'll be devoted to the one and despise the other. You see, fence sitting might keep people happy. It might keep people happy in the short term, in fact. But it guts the church of conviction. And a church without conviction is a corpse. It may look alive, but it's already dead. Now, let's do something. Let's zoom out for a second. America is deeply divided. We we all see it, right? I don't think I need to explain that. Left versus right, Republican versus Democrat, conservative versus progressive, red versus blue, you know, you know, cupcakes or cake at the wedding. It's all divided. And our culture feeds on that division. Entire news networks, entire industries, entire political machines thrive on outrage and tearing each other apart. Tribalism, right? But here's the real tragedy. The church has started to mirror those divides instead of resisting them. Instead of being a prophetic voice that speaks truth on both sides, we've started acting like just another partisan tribe. We've let political identity replace spiritual identity. We've let outrage culture infect our pulpits. We've let which side are you on become louder than whose Lord do you serve? And when that happens, we stop being salt and light. We stop being counterculture rooted in Jesus. We become just another echo chamber in the noise. The church was never called to mirror America's fractured lions. We were called to heal them by pointing people to the cross. Let me be clear. I'm not saying Christianity is Republican. I'm not saying Christianity is Democrat. But what I am saying, and I need you to hear this, is Christianity is biblical. Again, another verse from last week, Micah 6 8, says, He has shown you, O mortal, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. I'll say it again, that's not left. That's not right. That's kingdom. But let's be honest. Sometimes the kingdom aligns more clearly with one side of an issue than another. And in those moments, neutrality is not wisdom. It's sin. If you know what God requires, justice, mercy, humility, and you refuse to stand for you you refuse to stand for it because you're afraid of losing members, losing influ influence, losing approval. That's just flat out plum disobedience. Listen, neutrality isn't holiness. It's not holiness. Neutrality is neutrality is rebellion in disguise. Now some people rush and say, like I said, Cody, what about unity? Aren't we supposed to be united? And that is a topic that's been on my heart too. So obviously my answer there is like, yes, absolutely. But here's the catch. I told you guys last week there's a big difference between false unity and true unity. False unity says, let's just let's just stop talking about that stuff. Let's stop talking about the hard stuff. Let's hold hands and pretend everything's okay. That's not unity. I'll say it again. Hot take, but it's delusion. True unity says, though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike. Those are beautiful words from the theologian, in my opinion, John Wesley. In his sermon, The Catholic Spirit, it reflects a call to the church that is more than division. It's more than what color is the carpet. It's more than anything that you can imagine because it's saying, listen, I know that you do this this way and you do this this way, but I think that we're pointing to the same person. So why can't we love each other and continue to point to the same person? We can disagree on non-essentials, on methods, on traditions, on styles, and still love each other deeply. But unity never means. It never means compromising on the essentials. Unity without truth isn't unity. It's chaos. Unity without holiness isn't unity. It's rebellion. Unity without the cross isn't unity. It's just another club. Let that sink in. It's just another club. So let's ask the big questions. What's at stake if we don't take this seriously? I for one would say number one is our witness to the world. Jesus said in John 17 that the world will know we're his by our unity. But if we're fractured, the world will assume the gospel is powerless. That is a problem. I think another thing that we lose is our strength as the body. A divided church can't fight a united enemy. Satan doesn't have to destroy us if he can just keep us busy destroying each other. He doesn't. We give him way too much credit. He's sitting back in Cuba smoking a cigar and watching us kill ourselves. Another thing is our credibility with the next generation is something that is seriously at stake. Young people see hypocrisy, our bickering, our division, and they walk away before they ever hear the gospel. Another thing that I believe is at stake is our obedience to Jesus. Unity wasn't his suggestion, his suggestion. It was his dying prayer. Father, make them one like you and I are one. That's beautiful. But our obedience to Jesus is at stake. When we can't get this thing figured out. Jesus is dying prayer that we may be one. Like he and the Father are one. Ignoring it isn't a small thing. It's not small. It's disobedience to Christ himself. If we don't take unity and truth seriously, we're not just failing America. We're failing Jesus. But I don't want to leave you hopeless here. Because I believe that unity can happen. Not because I believe in politics. Boy, I'd be in trouble. Not because I believe in people either. But because I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. He doesn't pray prayers that can't be answered. In John 17, he prayed that his people would be one. That means that unity isn't just an idea. It's not just an ideal. It's a promise the Spirit can actually bring to life. You can take it to the bank, it will clear every time. And I see glimpses of it. When churches can when churches form different denomination partners to feed the hungry, that's a glimpse. When churches just come together from different denominational parties. When believers drop their pride and pray together. When reconciliation wins out over gossip, that's a glimpse of that prayer. Those are little snapshots of heaven breaking through. Signs that God is still answering Jesus' prayer. So here's the bottom line. America may be divided. The church may be divided, but the gospel is not divided. You can live in the middle, you can saddle the fence, and you can call yourself safe. But safe Christianity is dead Christianity. Listen, or here's your other option. You can choose the side of Christ, the side of scripture, the scripture way to faith, the truth, the side of truth. The world doesn't need balanced Christians. It needs bold ones. It doesn't need fence sitters. It needs fire starters. And I mean that in the best of way. So let me ask you, where are you standing today? Well, thanks for joining me for another episode that it's tough. It's really tough. But thanks for joining me on the on Uncomfortable Grace as we dive deeper into this topic. If the shorter episode stirred you, I pray this one has pressed it deeper. Share it with someone who needs the reminder that faithfulness doesn't live in the middle. As always, I call you. Stay faithful. Stay uncomfortable. Stay in the fight. And the best of all is Christ is with you. And even better than that is, God is not done with you yet. Amen.