Vindicated: Pastor Wins After Losing His Job for a Single Tweet
Rev. Keith Waters | Executive Committee Member | Evangelical Minister
The Situation
Keith Waters had served as an evangelical pastor for over a decade. In 2016, he made a significant personal sacrifice — stepping down from a senior Estates Manager role at one of Cambridge University’s largest colleges, taking a 60% pay cut, to work part-time as a school caretaker at the Isle of Ely Primary School while pastoring his local church, Ely New Connexions Church.
The job was taken with the agreement that if there was ever a conflict with his pastoral duties, his role as pastor would take priority. From the outset, he stated clearly that he would be unequivocal in publicly stating the Christian doctrine on various issues, some of which might be unpopular.
The school accepted those terms. Keith was, by all accounts, valued. In a final appraisal, he had been described by management as “an asset to the school.”
Then came June 2019 — and the first Cambridge Pride festival.
On 1 June, at the beginning of Pride month, Keith posted a tweet from his personal account: a reminder to Christians that Pride events promote a culture contrary to the Christian faith and are especially harmful for children. It was a short, sincere post — the kind of thing a Christian pastor might say from any pulpit. Keith said he did not particularly think about the implications of the tweet at the time. He posted it, he said, “out of love.”
What followed was beyond anything he could have anticipated.
The Challenge
Keith and his family endured a campaign of harassment and abuse. Hate messages were sent to his personal email address and to the church. Funeral directors turned up at his home to arrange his funeral. Estate agents arrived to sell his house. He received death threats.
The school launched an investigation. One letter to the school claimed Keith’s tweet called for “violence against people who support the Ely Pride Festival.” An anonymous teacher alleged that the tweet fell within the government’s definition of extremism. Keith was invited to an investigation meeting, told it was strictly confidential — yet members of the school community found out about it before Keith himself was even informed of the outcome.
Keith was told his tweet was “highly inappropriate and offensive,” that he had brought the school into disrepute, and he was issued a final written warning. He was stripped of his regular duties and prevented from working at the school gates.
The situation became untenable. Keith could no longer do his job, could no longer speak as a pastor, and could no longer protect his family from the storm raging around them. He resigned.
In his resignation, Keith wrote: “It has become obvious that neither the school nor the academy trust would tolerate my right to freedom of speech or freedom of faith. That being the case, I have no choice but to leave your employ to ensure that my church and I are protected from being silenced.”
At stake was not only a part-time income, but the freedom of a Christian minister to speak the truth of his faith — in his own time, on his own platform, as part of his calling. And behind that question lay a deeper one: could a Christian pastor hold any job in Britain while still being free to preach?
Our Support
Supported by the Christian Legal Centre — the organisation from which NCTU was born — Keith brought his case before the Employment Tribunal. He claimed direct and indirect discrimination and constructive dismissal, arguing that the school had unlawfully interfered with his rights to freedom of religion, thought, and expression.
It took nearly three years to reach a hearing. Throughout that time — through the threats, the investigation, the resignation, the wait, and the tribunal — Keith was not left to face it alone. He was supported, represented, and accompanied every step of the way.
Reflecting on the experience, Keith wrote that he had received good solid support from brothers and sisters across the country — and that when Christians take God at His word and stand firm, He does more than sustain them. He enables them, blesses them, and brings others to walk alongside.
That is precisely what NCTU is built to do.
The Outcome
In April 2022, Employment Judge King ruled that Pastor Keith Waters had been discriminated against. In an important ruling, the tribunal found in favour of Keith’s freedom to express his biblical beliefs on human identity and sexual morality on social media. Furthermore, the ruling established that Christian pastors who hold employment alongside their church ministries are free to express their biblical faith online without fear of losing those jobs.
The judge’s words were clear and significant. He ruled that curtailing Keith’s freedom of speech outside of work — an important part of his role as a Christian minister — must be done with caution, and only in the clearest cases where the rights of others are being damaged. He stated that evangelical Christian ministers will have views not necessarily shared by everyone in society, but that it is part of their duty as Christian ministers to preach those beliefs.
It was a landmark moment — not just for Keith, but for every Christian minister in Britain who holds a job alongside their calling.
Keith responded: “I pray that this ruling will help protect pastors in the future who have to work part-time in other jobs to make up their income. This is an important win for our freedom to speak the truth of the gospel without fear of losing our jobs.”
Why It Matters
Keith’s case is the only one among our Executive Committee members that resulted in a clear, decisive victory at tribunal — and it carries a message that NCTU wants every Christian worker in the UK to hear.
You can speak the truth of your faith. You can post from your personal account as a minister of the Gospel. You can hold a job and hold your convictions. And if an employer tries to silence you for doing so, there is somewhere to turn — and the law may well be on your side.
But Keith would be the first to say that the victory was not simply a legal one. He has written of the profound spiritual significance of the experience — of discovering how much of the Church had fallen silent, how much of wider society had lost its basic understanding of what Christians believe, and of how vital it is for Christians to remain confident, visible, and courageous in public life.
In his own words: “Brothers and sisters, our schools, our police, our judiciary, our media — in fact our whole society — needs to see Jesus and needs to hear of Jesus. How will they if we remain silent, if we remain absent? Let us be confident Christians, let us shout out to the world around us that the God of Love and Justice rules and reigns.”
That is the spirit Keith brought to NCTU. That is the spirit we carry into every case we take on.
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” — Joshua 1:9
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