A state road crew in western Pennsylvania recently painted a double yellow line over a dead raccoon. The crew is usually able to remove road kill from the highway before painting, but circumstances prevented that from happening in this case. Photos of the painted raccoon were taken before it could be cleaned up, allowing many people to enjoy a good laugh.

Sometimes churches are guilty of painting over programs, policies and traditions that have died a long time ago. Instead of taking time to clean up the mess, they press on. It’s like they think that if they ignore reality, the problem will go away.

It won’t.

Has your church painted any dead raccoons lately?