MTV Star Rob Dyrdek Becomes Licensed Minister to Officiate Wedding
Rob Dyrdek, a professional skateboarder and the star of MTV's "Fantasy Factory," is known for his far-fetched and sometimes dangerous approach to fun. But both his cousin and his mother had to question if he had gone too after he became a licensed minister.
In Monday night's episode of "Fantasy Factory," Dyrdek revealed to his friends that he had become a licensed minister in the State of California so that he could officiate the wedding of his sister, Denise, and her fiance, Jason.
"I don't know if you can joke about, like, God and stuff," said Christopher "Drama" Pfaff in response to the news.
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Dyrdek received his minister's license from the Universal Life Church (ULC), an organization that believes in the equality of all religions and licenses ministers for free without first questioning their beliefs or requiring them to go through training. Other celebrities who have been licensed by the ULC, according to the organization's website, include TV show host Conan O'Brien, conservative radio show host Glenn Beck, and "Playboy" founder Hugh Hefner.
After revealing he had been ordained, Dyrdek made a joke about accidentally holding a same-sex commitment ceremony between Pfaff and his friend, Christopher "Big Black" Boykin. Dyrdek also wore a mitre hat, similar to the kind the Pope would wear, and walked around with a staff during part of the episode.
"There's a lot of perks to being a minister," Dyrdek said to Pfaff and Boykin. "Number one, I could marry you at any given second. Depending on which way you end up going when you get older, I could have your commitment ceremony...another thing, too, is I can park anywhere."
After realizing he didn't know how to officiate a ceremony, and seeing how uneasy his mother was about having him as the wedding's minister, Dyrdek enlisted the help of John Mills, the pastor of Westchester United Methodist Church in Westchester, Calif., to help him.
Mills told The Christian Post on Tuesday that he spoke with Dyrdek for around 40 minutes, and the more serious parts of their conversation were edited out of the episode. He believes that, even in the middle of all the joking, Dyrdek took his responsibility as the wedding's officiant seriously.
"I think he began to feel the enormity of his responsibility," said Mills.
When asked what he thinks about being able to obtain a minister's license online, Mills said it is a "dangerous" practice. Many people who simply use the Internet to obtain these licenses often lack a foundation of biblical faith, he said. And he emphasized how important it is to be a part of an established faith community where there is accountability and support systems already in place.
"I don't encourage it by any means, but there's always going to be somebody with great charisma like Rob Dyrdek...that will use it," he said.
Another component of the episode featured Dyrdek trying to bond with his soon-to-be brother-in-law by doing dangerous activities, including letting a 600-pound grizzly bear take food from their mouths and having Jason ride a four wheeler off a ramp and into a pit that is filled with foam blocks. After the ceremony was already over, Dyrdek even said he wouldn't sign the marriage license until Jason ate six fried scorpions, which he did.
