Freedom with Order begins with a discussion of the basic need for an ecclesiology (i.e., a doctrine of the church that will do justice to the history of the United Church of Christ and to its basic theological principles.)

It is natural to look first at the inherited UCC ecclesiologies, and it is noted that, in the two historic strands (Evangelical and Reformed / Congregational), there is both an "Evangelical" and a "Reformed" tradition. So the "Evangelische" of the E & R denomination and the "Christian" contribution in the CC denomination are examined; then the "Reformed" traditions from the German Reformed and the Anglo-Saxon Congregational heritage are considered. This leaves the question of how valid these ecclesiologies still are in the UCC.