This forum is open for conversation about issues concerning the church within the boundaries of Confessing Christ's mission to promote "joyful and serious theological reflection" in the United Church of Christ.

Sometimes these issues are controversial and point to painful disagreements within our family. Confessing Christ is a diverse community, and conversation partners will bring their own perspectives to our conversation. So everyone should expect to read views with which she or he may strongly disagree. We want to maintain high standards of civil and charitable discourse, so we ask you to respect the following standards:

1. When we engage a sister or brother about a divisive issue, we should be careful never to question the integrity of that person. We should never impute dishonest motives to anyone. We should expect that in a diverse community, not everyone will agree with our opinions about the Bible or our interpretations of the Christian tradition.

2. Hostile generalizations about groups can easily poison a conversation. We should avoid comments that broadly condemn any group--liberals or conservatives, fundamentalists and evangelicals, for example--instead of directly addressing the issue at hand.

3. Because, in this medium, we cannot actually see the faces or hear the voices of our conversation partners, it is sometimes easy to forget that we are always talking to real human beings. So please think carefully before you write. Choose your words with care, and re-read what you've written before posting a message. Ask yourself whether your message treats the other participants in this conversation with respect, whether you are expressing yourself tactfully and in a way that is likely to build up the community rather than divide it or tear it down. Remember that this is a meeting of the church of Christ. Be honest, but be considerate.

4. We should follow the example of Jesus when verbally attacked by another person. Attacks should be not answered by attacks, and insults should not be answered by insults. In many situations, it may be preferable to ignore an insult and move on.

5. Extremely long messages or multiple messages posted by individual users sometimes discourage others from participating in the conversation, so please do not post more than two messages a day. It will be easier to express yourself within reasonable limits if (1) you restrict your comments to one or two points and (2) carefully re-read and edit what you have written before posting the message.

6. First and last name are required for registration and posting. Although e-mail addresses are required for registration, it is up to the individual as to whether they are displayed to the public or not.

7. Please note that moderators have been designated for this forum. At present they are Herb Davis, Ted Trost and Andy Lang. Their responsibility is to help keep the conversation on track and to guide users to resources that may be relevant to the subject under discussion. Suggestions and complaints should be directed to the moderators. Please note that the moderator is authorized to ban users whose messages habitually are abusive or use profane language. The moderators will exercise this option only in extreme situations.

8. All opinions are welcome! We only ask that you remember that you are in conversation with sisters and brothers in Christ. We will exercise no censorship of opinions expressed in these forums—except in cases of an extremely abusive or defamatory attack against another person or group. We want to provide the greatest possible latitude for debate within the bounds of decency and respect.

To register for the open forum, navigate to http://groups.google.com/group/Confessing-Christ. We look forward to welcoming you to the discussion!