A friend once told me about a rather unpleasant experience she had with a Christian who said her grandmother "went backwards" when she changed her denomination. I am quite fortunate in that most of my Christian friends are not like this themselves, but far too often, I see, or hear of, people bashing each other's denominations. And I ask myself why? Why are denominations such a contentious issue for us? More to the point, why do they even exist?
Jesus had 12 Apostles, all of whom went around the world preaching the good news of salvation. There were no "denominations". At least, there were none that the Apostles themselves preached.
But of course, religious division is human nature. Denominations aren't something that just popped up one day. They have been around since the first century. In fact, there is at least one example of denominations raising their ugly heads in the New Testament. And Paul condemns the divisions. He does so by asking "Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?"
When the Apostles preached, they didn't preach in their own names, neither did they preach their own message. None of them exalted themselves above the other. None of them brought in their own unique doctrines, or their own personal interpretations. Paul even rebuked Peter for his hypocrisy. So what did the Apostles think of denominations? Simple: Where you're with Christ, it's ok to divide with those who are not. Under Christ. Where you're against Christ, you must stop being against Christ and unite with those who under Christ. Where it doesn't matter, division makes no sense, just focus on Christ.
Who was crucified for us? Christ, not Luther. Whose name were we baptised in? Jesus, not John Smyth. Christ isn't divided into Reformers, Philosophers, pastors, theologians, or Church "Fathers". The only thing Christ ever divided was the sheep from the goats, so every time you look at a fellow Christian and say "you're of this denomination, therefore we're better than you", you're letting Him down.
This is not how Christians are supposed to behave. If we must divide, let it not be over trivial issues and doubtful disputations. Let us divide from heretics and apostates, but when it comes to the brethren, let us all speak the same thing, knowing that in the end, the only head of the Church is Christ. Your church belongs to Him, and so we should all act like it.