Church of God (COG) Exhorter History and Polity Practice Test

Authority to solemnize marriages is a civil-legal and pastoral responsibility. When an exhorter serves as pastor and satisfies the civil-law requirements (licensing, credentials, and local rules), they are authorized to officiate weddings, since signing the marriage license makes the union legally binding. Baptisms and funerals are religious rites and do not carry the same civil-legal requirement for marriage licensure. Ordination ceremonies are ecclesiastical rites that confer ministerial status, not acts that bind a civil contract. Thus, weddings is the correct choice.