Over 50 years ago, the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches (NACCC) was incorporated as a fellowship of Congregational churches.  The churches in this fellowship opposed merging with the Evangelical and Reformed Church that some Congregational churches favored.  The idea of merging with another denomination was not, in and of itself, offensive.  However, the controversy about this particular merger centered on Congregational identity, practice and cherished values.  Those against the merger feared that the merger would establish a church hierarchy and that their church would lose its independence and ability to self-govern.  While this is a simplistic summary of a complicated and emotionally-fraught period of history, it illustrates how core principles and practices of the Congregational Way were the driving values that formed the NACCC.