Officiant Ordination Story
Officiant Ordination Story
My name is Mikal Hensarling, and this is my officiant ordination story. I recently moved from Houston, Texas, to a small town in northeast Tennessee. All of my life, I looked up to my older brother, envying his popularity, his knack for sports, and his extreme intellect. Everything he has ever set out to do, he has accomplished. Throughout my schooling and young adult life, I always felt like an outsider. I had to struggle to make close friends, searching, trying to figure out where I fit in and what I wanted to do with my life.
Then, in my mid-twenties, I fell in love and married. I knew at once my role in this life! My role as a husband. I am to provide a stable, loving, Godly home for my wife Shera and do my absolute best at being the provider and spiritual leader. I know for a fact that I fail miserably at times, but through the power of the Holy Spirit, I secured a decent job and provide a home for her.
A year after Shera and I married, we found out we were expecting our first son, Tyson, and 4 years later we had our second boy, Carson. Parenthood brought about many struggles, but most importantly, it brought about absolute joy! The love a parent has for their child is as close as humans can come to understand the love the Father has for us. I knew that my role had grown beyond the scope of provider and spiritual leader to caregiver and minister.
My ministry to my wife and kids is a great calling. It gives me purpose in this life. It gives me a reason to get up each day and work my hardest at providing a life for them here on this earth. As a Christian leader, however, I understand that this life is futile in the scope of eternity. This is why I am devoted to teaching my children about God, His love for us, and the importance of believing in Him and Jesus’ death and resurrection. For without Jesus’ payment on the cross, there would be no point to the life we are living.
Officiant Ordination Search
So why did I start this officiant ordination story by talking about my brother? Several months ago, my older brother came up to me and requested that I be the one to wed he and his fiancé. At first, I was somewhat confused because I am not a pastor. But then, I realized how much of an honor he was granting me and the respect he was showing me as the Christian leader of my home. He saw God working through me and trusted his marriage to my blessing. I immediately told him, yes, and then began my search for ordination.
I did quite a bit of internet research, checking out the reputable validity of various paths to ordination, and how they each reflect, or in some cases, deflect biblical teaching. There were quite a few “instant ordinations” where you could basically buy a piece of paper that would allow you to marry any couple, of any faith, and any sexual preference. This didn’t sit right with me. I knew that I didn’t want to take the easy way out, and I wanted to honor God through this ordination. I also wanted my name to be tied to an institution that also honored God and the true sanctity of marriage (one man, one woman, ‘till death do you part).
After seeking the Lord’s guidance, I found Christian Leaders Institute. I realized that the teachings of CLI were biblically sound, and I could trust that God would bless the education I received. This course of study has been invaluable to my personal ministry, and the knowledge I have obtained through my training will continue to be useful in my walk with God long after I am done. I have enjoyed CLI and benefited from it so much. I plan to continue my training well beyond the ordination I initially set out to obtain.
I hope that my officiant ordination story might convince someone else, seeking the same path, to pursue Truth in their education. Anyone can buy a piece of paper to receive the authority to marry someone in the court’s eyes. But do not take the easy way out; seek God’s authority. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. The Christian path is seldom easy.
Learn more about ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.
Author: Henry Reyenga
Henry Reyenga is president of Christian Leaders Institute and Christian Leaders Alliance.
