There has been many stories in the news lately about celebrities obtaining Ordination online so that they could perform a wedding. Some people think it’s fine, some people think it is wrong. Others go so far as to question the validity of Ordinations performed by online churches (other than theirs of course).
We have offered Ordination since our inception, but have just recently began publicizing it, and allowing people to begin the process online. We waited until The Lord said go to start doing this, and it is still a growing, living thing (just as your Faith should be). Had we done otherwise, I do not believe we would have gotten very far.
Since we began offering people the chance to begin the Ordination process online, we have received a lot of e-mails with questions about it (and a few damning us to hell, making threats, etc
). In this blog, I will do my best to answer the most frequent questions regarding the Ordination process. Please do note that we are MINISTERS, not LAWYERS. We can not nor will we give you legal advice in regards to your specific situation . We will provide general guidelines, and facts as we have uncovered them and as they have been presented to us, but we STRONGLY urge you to contact the proper authorities in your area and/or a competent Attorney of your choosing should you have questions about your Ordination and/or the validity of performing Weddings in your area.
1) The Legalities of Online Ordination
In 1974, The United States District Court for the Eastern District validated “mail-order” Ordinations in a case brought by The Universal Life Church against the United States (Universal Life Church, Inc. V United States of America, Case Number Civ. No. 1954)
In part, the final ruling in this case stated:
“Certainly the ordination of ministers and the chartering of churches are accepted activities of religious organizations… The fact that the plaintiff distributed ministers’ credentials and Honorary Doctor of Divinity certificates is of no moment. Such activity may be analogized to mass conversions at a typical revival or religious crusade.”
Further, the court went on to say (and this is perhaps the most applicable portion of this case:
“Neither this Court, nor any branch of this Government, will consider the merits or fallacies of a religion. Nor will the Court compare the beliefs, dogmas, and practices of a newly organized religion with those of an older, more established religion. Nor will the Court praise or condemn a religion, however excellent or fanatical or preposterous it may seem. WERE THE COURT TO DO SO, IT WOULD IMPINGE UPON THE GUARANTEES OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT.”
So the process of Ordaining those who ask is firmly established in case law by this case. And although the Universal Life Church is not (nor have they ever claimed to be) a Christian Church, The Lord did use them to establish the practice of Ordaining people in this manner, and all Churches that offer Ordination online or through the mail owe them a debt of gratitude.
2) Why Online Ordination?
By far the most common reason a person seeks Ordination outside of going to a Seminary or Bible College is to perform a Wedding. There are other reasons as well, and these reasons are as unique as the individuals who seek Ordination.
If you want a friend or family member to officiate your Wedding, chances are that person is not going to want to spend the time and money to go to Bible College and jump through all the other hoops in order to be able to do it for you. There has been a trend over the past years away from traditional Church Weddings and towards more intimate and personal ceremonies. Mostly gone are the days when a bride promised to obey while repeating vows that were 100 years old (or more). As with most things, the institutional Church has been slow to embrace this trend and as a result Online Ordination and the Ministers that it creates have stepped up to fill that need.
Wedding laws vary, but in most States/Counties you do not need much. You do have to register in some States/Counties, and some require a Letter Of Good Standing. In parts of Nevada & New York, these letters must be Notarized. We provide all this along with membership in our Church.
Some Ministers also want to start a Church/Ministry or other Religious Organization. Along with being a Wedding Officiant, your Ordination will also allow you to do these things, again without spending years in a Seminary or Bible College.
Dont get me wrong, I am all for education and training. I myself have an earned Theology Degree (D. Th.). But the fact is that many people finally answer The Lords call later in their lives, and spending 4-8 years in a Seminary or Bible College is not practical. There are also the denominational guidelines to think about. Some denominations do not allow women to be Ordained or be a Pastor, others have such strict guidelines about who they will Ordain, that Jesus himself would not have qualified for their Seminary program. Again, this is where we (and other Churches that Ordain online) come in and fill a need.
3) Who should I be Ordained by? There are so many websites now that will Ordain people…
You are correct. There are a lot of websites that offer Ordination. Everything from The Church Of The Flying Spaghetti Monster to Conservative Christian Fellowships. We suggest that you take some time, look through the website and find out which one is the right fit for you. If you have read this far into this blog, I am going to assume you are pretty serious about Ordination, so I will not discuss the satire “Churches”. The others (including ours) can be broken down into 3 categories.
1) Ordination/Marriage Ministries- These are Ministries that exist primarily for the function of Ordaining you to perform a wedding. They are sometimes referred by their critics as “Ordination Mills”. These Ministries generally do not hold any services, or (most times) have a physical address. They are there to Ordain you and that is about it.
If you are getting Ordained to perform a wedding for friends or family, and you have no intention of going any further in the Ministry than that, this may be the type of Ordination for you.
2) Interfaith Churches- These Churches accept all Faiths. They may or may not hold services (most times they dont). They will generally ordain you into whatever faith you choose to follow. These Organizations even “Ordain” atheists .
If you want to follow a certain Faith, but do not want to jump through the hoops of said Faith to obtain Ordination, this is probably your place.
3) Non-Denominational Christian Churches- These Churches (this is where our church fits in) Ordain people within the Christian Faith. They may or may not hold services at a physical location (most do in one form or another), but they generally have a creed and a statement of beliefs. Most of these meet some or all of the “14 points” as established by the IRS* to meet the “essence of legal authority”. Also, most of these Churches provide training of some sort to those seeking Ordination, and may require some work on your part (such as an essay or thesis) in order to become Ordained.
If your purpose in seeking Ordination is to start a Christian Ministry, this is the type you want to go with.
Those are the basics of Online Ordination. If you would like to know more, please visit us at the link below.
God Bless!!
Pastor Brian
”Online Christian Ordination- become a Wedding Officiant and so much more”
Start your own Church or Ministry. We can help you.
We are a REAL CHURCH that hold’s regular services at a physical location as well as online.
Don’t be mislead, if you are looking for Ordination, but do not want to be Ordained by a Church that only exists in cyber space, click on the link below.
