who or what is the UCC?

I participated in a blog discussion for a few months on a web site called ucctruths.com. This is a group of people highly critical of what they call the "UCC" which is the national part of the church and particularly John Thomas the president. Now, I have not found myself fitting in with the things the national church is doing and saying over the last 15 years, even though I share many of the same viewpoints that are espoused from there. At the same time, I found the ucctruths discussion just to be basically an opposite reaction which didn't feel any different to me than what I have been feeling with the national church all these years.

It was suggested to me in the last few weeks that I didn't understand the purpose of the blog and it was better maybe if I didn't participate or moved on. This wasn't done in a hateful or personal attacking way. Just matter of fact.

I am going to post here my last posting to that group from yesterday...

I was responding to this comment initially from someone else called "blogtruths":

Something that DeLoar said made me think of the Serenity prayer. Not that I intend to surrender my grumbling rights, but are there ways to act locally? One thing I have long thought is that our churches do not resource each other like we can.

My reply:

Amen, brother!

Over the seven years we have been in transformation as a local church we consulted left and right with other churches. Over the last six years we have had around 30 churches contact us to learnfrom our experience. IN FACT, someone on this list just contacted me via email this afternoon asking for info on our experience. I offered a host of resources and the willingness to spend some timeon the telephone along with one of our lay folks. It is the laypeople of this church who have grown so spiritually mature and biblically literate that are truly changing the face of this church. I meet weekly with the five folks I discern to be the prime SPIRITUAL leaders of our church. Each one for at least an hour at a local coffee shop that has wireless computer connection.

As I start to close in on my last 7 years before the pension kicks in, I am more energized than ever for ministry and plan to never retire. Why would any of us if we have given our life over to Christ? In these past 7 years I have had to be willing to risk everything. Even as one my mentors has said "the pension", because if we aren't willing to risk it all for Jesus Christ, then we haven't given our lives over to him. And we will never rise to life in him.

I have told our church repeatedly that we have to be willing to let Fairlawn-West UCC die. We have had significant trust funds and a wonderful bldg, but we were (are?) close to going down the tubes from that stand point because of the risks we took to break out of the "mold" of an "institutionalized church" or as I like to call it "a church trapped in American church culture."

This will be my last posting here. I agree with all of you. This isn't my place. The UCC I hear about here is not the UCC I am part of. Neither is that of the national UCC. You seem to be on opposite ends of the same rope. My experience is to let go of the rope and see what the Holy Spirit will do with us.

And "truths" you are right on with the Serenity Prayer...which happened to be offered first by the same Reinhold Niebuhr you all have talked about here recently.

Christ's peace be with you all.
David