The DeWeese-Boyd v. Gordon College case in Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) could impact anyone in Massachusetts who works at a religiously affiliated school or hospital, but the implications could be far broader. The dispute began with a disagreement about LGBTQ+ policies which is not uncommon. The private, evangelical Christian college asked the SJC essentially to rule that any Christian who works at a Christian institution is a ‘minister’ which would prevent normal rules about workplace discrimination from being applied. This SJC ruled that the associate professor of social work was not a “minister.”
Whatever the merits of this particular case, the question of who is a “minister” is too important to be left to any court to decide. A legal system may decide on its own definition, but at least part of the problem is the church’s own unclear definition. Are preachers the only ministers? Is everyone working in a Christian congregation or school a minister because they are paid by a Christian organization? Is every Christian a minister no matter where they work or who pays them? If the church isn’t clear about who is a minister, it should not be surprised if others enforce a legal definition that isn’t informed by the purposes and practices of the church. If the church persists in using sacred/secular categories, it can’t really complain if others do so also, even if their definition of secular is more inclusive.