Rev. Who?

The article headline in yesterday's paper reached out and grabbed my attention. It read, "Online Ordinations Rise." The gist of the article concerned a growing number of people applying for online ordination credentials in order to perform weddings for family and friends. Hmm. I thought back to my ordination process (an 8 hour written exam followed by a two and a half oral exam). Passing this qualified me for "licensure." Three years later, I finished the process with another oral exam. So as I thought about online ordinations, I was wondering just how easy it would be to get "ordained" a second time.

To find out, I went to the web site of the Universal Life Church (whose web site's tag line is "Get Ordained for Free for Life.") I clicked on the tab labeled "Get Ordained." I proceeded to complete the application under the name of Frank Miller (I figured they might think my real name was fake). Upon completion of the application, I clicked on "submit." Immediately the following page came up: "Rev. Miller. Congratulations! Your Ordination date is December 14, 2010. Your name has been added into our directory and the registry of ordained ministers."

That's all it took! Wow! And from the research I did, there are other websites that also offer a no cost and no effort ordination! This makes me wonder what's next? Websites offering M.D.'s? This is just another reminder of the mark of our culture of "Let's do it the EASY way!"

Yet the Scripture uses analogies like "fighting the fight" and "running the race" to teach us about our Christian journey. So ... as followers of Christ we cannot afford to get sucked into the "let's do it the easy way" mentality of our world. So beware! The easy way is most often NOT God's way!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj (a.k.a. "Rev. Frank Miller")