If you've stayed this long, you deserve a shorter and more light-hearted post. Well, this is it. My short plea here is for all those thinking about disaffiliation to take off your rose-colored glasses, check your Pollyanna attitudes, and be realistic about one thing.

Just like there are no perfect local congregations, there are no perfect denominations. The Church is filled with fallen and broken people--thanks be to God--but as a result, the life of the Church is far from perfect. All local churches have problems. All denominations have problems. Switching from one denomination to another, even one that is more faithful to God's word, won't make everything perfect. It might be better, but it won't be flawless.

As an aside, I really dislike the not-so-old hymn, "Every Day With Jesus is Sweeter than the Day Before" because its theology is awful, sappy beyond measure, and simply untrue. With that sugary sweet tune in mind, it's likewise untrue to think every day in a new denomination will be sweeter than the day before and solve every congregation's problems.

Switching denomination might be the right answer for a church looking to be faithful to Christ. In some cases, it will be essential. At the same time, please remember that green grass requires fertilizer and even green pastures are filled with cow pies.