Pastors and strong Christians in faith, is it degrading to?

I can't answer that for you. If you feel God leads you this way, then go for it. We don't always have the means to do what we think we should be doing, but God will provide if that is His plan for you. He'll provide the money and the means to have you be a pastor. Sometimes we are not ready in His eyes and we need to be patient. Only then will you reap the full blessings He has for you. Doing it our way can sometimes lead to failure and disappointment. Also, pray with your pastor about this as well.

Well, thats tuff to answer. Have you exhausted all your other resources yet. like asking your sr. pastor or church what they would require you to do to be ordained. I know that if you are part of a organized denomination the individual church may not ordain and that is done by the organization itself. (sadly this makes getting ordained harder to do) Those organizations set the bar way to high. Like me for example. I did not go to a regular college. I went directly to a school designed for the ministry which also had an undergrad program. But most oorganizationsout there require you to have a masters from an approved seminary. I refused to waste three more years learning the same things that I already did. Seminaries are designed for those who have secular degrees to attend to get a training in the ministry.

Sorry got on a soapbox. To answer your question I would try and exausht every other avenue before doing the online thing. I mean what happens if you every go and serve at another church ans they see that your ordination came from the unitarian church online. NOT GOOD.

You might ask your church about this. I know that my church recently "ordained" a youth pastor (and a few others)...I'm guessing that the senior pastors (the ones that did go to seminary) have the authority to ordain someone within the denomination. I would think this method would be more acceptable to most churches than an online ordination (and if you want to be a youth pastor, you'll most likely need to be affiliated with a specific church). Your current pastor would also know what is required to perform legal marriages in your state (varies...I know my dad had to complete some paperwork after he was ordained to marry people in New Mexico...and he had to complete more paperwork to marry people in Nevada)...and he would know if your church/denomination has any other requirements.

Going to an online school does not have the same bad stigma it did many years ago when the internet was new. Even in "normal" colleges, online courses and classes are offered so students can make the most of their studies.

That being said, there is still some stigma attached to it by the old-timers and if you intend to find a job as a pastor, it just might be seen as a negative mark for you. May I suggest you supplement your online courses with some local college courses? That way you get the best of both worlds :)

Please. This is easy. Study and find yourself approved of God. Where you get your diploma is secondary to the call of God who will enable you. While I know it is good to get training for the ministry Churches put too much emphasis on this and hamper the Spirit of God. Do you know that Jesus could not be employed as an associate pastor let alone the senior pastor! Imagine that the founder of the faith is unqualified to lead his flock.

Get your degree and serve or serve.

Did you know that the Nazarene Church in the Ukraine could not partake in communion because there was not an ordained minister there? Denied the Lord's table because of man made rules. The man serving there was a Lay Minister and that should have been good enough.

It depends on what you want to do with this ordination. If it is just to be made legal to do weddings, go ahead. If you want to grow in church leadership, you should talk to your youth pastor, or another pastor, and see if you can get one to mentor you. I don't think you need a Masters or Doctorate to be a good pastor, if you can get the training you need from another pastor. A Bachelor's degree, though, is useful.

Sorry, even as an atheist, I would not take an online ordination as the same as a "normal" ordination. If you want to do the work, you should actually know your stuff.

There maybe alternatives for becoming a youth pastor, others maybe able to suggest cost effective solutions for that.

I suggest that you pray to God to be a pastor. You don't need to go to the bible college to become one. All you have to do is to show people how to be as a youth, elderly and you might become one.

Anyone preaching a gospel that God did not give us degrades and mocks and profanes the righteousness of God.

There are many things happening today all in the name of Jesus, even Satan inspires people to do these things just to bring profanity onto the holy things of God.

Listen, God does not hear or pays attention to prayers like this or to people with sin (Isaiah 59:2). I think before you do anything, you should first meet the righteousness of God through our gospel books, which are available for free.

Man invented school for learning to pastor. I have my certificate from online but do not use it. I had to write my "mission statement " and be questioned about my knowledge and faith in order to obtain it. Then I am supposed to file it with the county/state in order to have a LEGAL license to do ceremonies. (man made rules)

YOU do realize that you need a Spirit filled understanding of the Bible?

If we misrepresent God's word we may do more harm than good, and God does NOT like to be misquoted <c; *wink*

here is a link to Trinity Institute of Christian Counseling

http://trinity-edu.com/index.php?module=htmlpages&...