A Nation of Tribes: How Christians can Lead with Unity in a Divided America

On February 1, 2026, the Grammy stage became a mirror—a microcosm of the larger cultural conversation that has encased the American psyche. Bad Bunny opened an acceptance speech with “ICE out,” urging America to resist hate, honor the dignity of immigrants as “humans and Americans,” and fight “with love.” The arena rose to its feet. A few categories later, Jelly Roll clutched a pocket‑sized Bible and testified, “Jesus is for everybody,” only to be branded by many online as “very MAGA”—proof, some said, that public faith is just coded politics. [today.com] [the-express.com]

Two moments. Two messages. One nation hearing them through tribal filters. These two instances, separated by mere moments in our lives, are irrefutable evidence that we, as citizens of the greatest country in the Free World, don’t listen to hear the message—we listen to hear whether it fits within our tribal narrative. And when every public statement is mapped to a camp, conversation collapses into suspicion, applause, or outrage.

I ask you, when is the last time you had a civilized argument with someone in an opposite tribe?

This post is for all of us. It’s about how Christians can live—and lead—differently. Not just in church, but in the workplace where reputations, teams, and livelihoods are at stake.

From Citizens to Tribes

Let’s be honest with each other. The Grammys didn’t cause our fracture; they revealed it.

• Bad Bunny’s call to see immigrants’ humanity—framed against violent ICE controversies—was celebrated by some as necessary truth and derided by others as performative politics. [yahoo.com], [usatoday.com]

• Jelly Roll’s Christ‑centered appeal—“Jesus is for everybody”—landed as sincere worship for some, and partisan signaling for others, especially after his country‑leaning halftime preference comment. [the-express.com]

Are we truly a people fluent in labels but illiterate in listening. Honestly, this is nothing new. When language breaks, unity breaks. Babel showed us that (Genesis 11). When allegiance is to factions over truth, community becomes a cul‑de‑sac. Corinth showed us that (“I follow Paul… I follow Apollos,” 1 Corinthians 1–3). And when our credibility is at stake, Jesus prayed that His people would be one—not as a PR strategy, but as a witness to the world (John 17:20–23).

A Biblical Frame for Today’s Divide

1) Factionalism is not just unhealthy—it’s unholy.

Paul confronts it head‑on in Corinth. Personalities, preferences, and platforms had replaced Christ as the binding center. The corrective? Re-center on the cross and drop the tribal affiliations (1 Corinthians 1:18–31).

2) Unity isn’t uniformity—it’s allegiance.

Jesus prays for a unity deep enough to be evidence of the gospel (John 17). Unity survives disagreement because it rests on a Person, not perfect consensus. My single best friend in this world is a lifelong Liberal. Our conversations, and our arguments, are great not only because we respect each other and each other’s right to our opinion, but because we are united in Christ—the Person we both serve.

3) The church’s public vocation is reconciliation.

As Christians and as servant leaders, we are ambassadors. We have been entrusted with a ministry that has mending in its job description (2 Corinthians 5:18–20). That means Christians are never free to mirror the world’s outrage economy [I’ll spell it out plainly: Regardless of whether you agree with Bad Bunny or Jelly Roll, you have the absolute minimum responsibility to listen to, see, and understand the other’s argument.]

We Christians are called to spend our influence differently.

Bringing This Down to Work: Faithful Presence in a Polarized Office

You and I spend most of our waking hours at work—whether in a home office on a computer or on a job site. That’s where tribalism does real damage—missed promotions, fractured teams, toxic Slack channels, cautious silence, and brittle trust. As professionals, we don’t have the luxury that comes with millions of dollars given to us by people who have never even met us, and dozens of security guards to keep other tribes at bay. We must work hand-in-hand with those tribes everyday.

So, here’s a framework to help Christians lead differently in business contexts.

1) Lead With Kingdom Identity—Not Party Identity

Jelly Roll’s line, “Jesus is for everybody,” is good theology and necessary posture. In professional spaces, that translates to grounding your faith in wisdom, not politics or sound bites. 

• Use I‑statements: “I follow Jesus because…” communicates conviction without conscription.

• Avoid “We Christians always…”, “My Conservative friends…”, or “The Liberal majority…” claims that make colleagues feel drafted into a tribe.

• Anchor your ethic in Scripture and stewardship, not talking points or trend cycles.

2) Practice Slow Speech (James 1:19)

Bad Bunny warned that hate multiplies with more hate and appealed to love as stronger still. Scripture anticipated that dynamic, admonishing us to love our neighbors…ALL of our neighbors. 

In meetings and messages:

• Respond; don’t react. Take a beat. Ask two clarifying questions and—here’s the trick—listen to the clarifications before you offer a counterpoint.

• Dial down “certainty theatre.” Replace “That’s ridiculous” with “Help me understand how you see it.” Redirect “You must agree” with “Show me what you mean by”.

• If your pulse is up, draft the email, sleep on it, then edit for humility and clarity.

3) Leave Margin for Mercy (The Boaz Principle)

From my book Don’t Glean the Margins: Boaz didn’t just obey the law’s corners; he cultivated space for dignity and redemption. In today’s office, margin looks like:

• Relational margin: One extra question in 1:1s—“What’s behind this for you?”—to see the person beneath the position.

• Meeting margin: Space for quieter voices; don’t harvest every minute with dominant opinions. Attend the sidelines. Listen before you speak. In short, “Read the room.”

• Decision margin: Resist zero‑sum framings. Name tradeoffs honestly; give grace room to work.

4) Avoid Fueling Claims of Weaponized Witness

Jelly Roll’s open Bible triggered instant politicized readings for many viewers, a reminder that performative cues can be misread in hyper‑tribal moments. Your calling at work is credible presence, and that is in the eye of the beholder. Jelly Roll did nothing wrong…and nothing more than a cross around a neck or a window sticker with religious and secular symbols. It was the inability of the recipients to empathize with his passion that weaponized his witness.

• Let consistency be your first sermon—punctuality, excellence, integrity, curiosity.

• Share faith relationally, not rhetorically. Prioritize conversations over declarations.

• Never use Scripture as a mic‑drop. Use it as a mirror first (Matthew 7:3–5). And always, always make time for discussion if Scripture is your cue.

5) Be a Non‑Anxious Presence (Philippians 4:5–7)

Anxiety is contagious, but so is calm. In a climate of layoffs, deadlines, and culture wars, choose the steady voice.

• Name tensions without catastrophizing.

• Trade hot takes for helpful questions: “What outcomes do we all care about?” “How can we be a part of the solution?”

• Pray before high‑stakes rooms. Ask for gentleness to be evident to all. Ask for wisdom to know when to listen and when to speak.

Conversational Fieldcraft for the Christian Professional

Here are practical tools you can put on your calendar today.

The 3‑Question Pause (Use before you speak)

1. Time: Is this the right moment, or should I request a follow‑up? (Ecclesiastes 3)

2. Tone: Will my tone lower the temperature—or raise it? (Prov 15:1)

3. Telos: What’s the end I’m aiming at—relationship, truth, progress, healing? (1 Tim 1:5)

Shared-Values On‑Ramp (Bridge before you build)

• Bad Bunny appealed to shared dignity (“humans and Americans”) and love over hate. If we can all agree on that, then it’s a good place to start.

• Jelly Roll appealed to universal access to Christ (“for everybody”). Build on openness rather than gatekeeping. After all, Christ died to pay for all our sins. He lives to give us all access to God.

How about this:

“We may disagree on the policy, but I think we both want people treated with dignity and communities kept safe. Can we start with those shared goals?”

Email/Chat Hygiene (Small hinges, big doors)

• Replace absolutists (always/never) with specifics.

• Cut sarcasm; it reads as contempt in text. Use emojis to avoid misunderstanding of tone.

• If you wouldn’t say it across a conference table, don’t type it into a channel.

“Margin Leadership” Rituals (Protect space for grace)

• Block two 30‑minute “margin holds” weekly for quick relational check‑ins or follow‑ups on sensitive conversations.

• Add a “quiet voices first” round—deliberately ask quiet contributors their thoughts first—in meetings on contentious items.

• Keep a short list titled “People I Need to See”—then book them. Don’t assume their position or reasons. Communicate with them to be certain.

What the Grammy Moment Should Teach the Church

At the Grammys, protest and proclamation shared the same stage—each instantly auditioned for tribal ownership.

Bad Bunny’s called against ICE‑related violence and for love was met with standing ovations and national headlines. His tenor surfaced deeply felt convictions about justice and human worth that have been fueled by a mixture of truth and misinformation, targeted sound and video bites and complicit “journalists.”

Jelly Roll’s confession—testifying that “God had the power to change my life… Jesus is for everybody”—was a normal circumstance in any other venue…but it surfaced deeply felt suspicions that public faith is a mask for power in a venue unfriendly to Christian tenets.

Here’s the warning: If the church simply echoes those reflexes, we will forfeit our vocation. The world doesn’t need another tribe—even if that tribe belongs to Christ. It needs a people of reconciliation who can disagree without dehumanizing, speak truth without scorning, and embody mercy without naïveté.

• Truth without hostility (Ephesians 4:15)

• Justice without partiality (James 2:1–9)

• Mercy without cynicism (Micah 6:8)

A Better Kingdom in a Divided Land

America may feel like a nation of tribes, but Christ has made His people a kingdom of priests (1 Peter 2:9) to all (Jews and Gentiles alike). That identity travels to boardrooms and break rooms, to Slack threads and staff meetings, to vendor calls and quarterly reviews.

So, lead, Servant. Lead with open Bibles and open hands, with careful words and generous margins, with courage and kindness in the same breath. Don’t put someone in a tribe, don’t let them put themselves in a tribe, and don’t let them put you in a tribe.

• Lead with love. (John 13:34–35)

• Leave margin for mercy. (Ruth 2; Leviticus 19:9–10)

• See the invisible. (1 Samuel 16:7; Matthew 25:40)

• Bless beyond obligation. (Matthew 5:41; Romans 12:10)

• Steward with purpose. (1 Peter 4:10; Matthew 25:14–30)

• Trust the bigger story. (Proverbs 3:5–6; Romans 8:28)

Because in the end, our country will not be won by the sharpness of our arguments but by the strangeness of our unity—a unity that makes the world ask why, and a Savior they can see when they look at us.