- NEXTRECORD -
duties in the correct manner, gives the National Church the power
to control his day-to-day conduct.
Respondent's emphasis on the National Church's control of
petitioner's ministerial credentials is misplaced for two
reasons. First, although petitioner was an ordained Assemblies
of God minister, he was engaged as a missionary. The National
Church's requirements for ministerial licensing and ordination,
as well as its authority to discipline petitioner and withdraw
his ministerial credentials, have little or no bearing as to the
details and means by which petitioner performed his duties as a
missionary.
Second, we do not think that the control test is satisfied
where the manner in which a service is performed is controlled by
the threat of the loss of professional credentials. Carried to
its logical extreme, this argument would serve to classify all
ordained ministers as employees of the National Church,
regardless of the type of service performed. We reject
respondent's contention that the National Church's ability to
revoke petitioner's ministerial credentials dictated petitioner's
daily conduct as a foreign missionary.
We are aware of the recent case, Alford v. United States,
Civil No. 94-1074, in which the District Court for the Western
District of Arkansas considered whether an Assemblies of God
ordained minister serving as a pastor of an affiliated local
church was an employee or an independent contractor. The
Page: Previous 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 NextLast modified: May 25, 2011