Ligonier’s Burk Parsons Under Investigation by Florida Presbytery
Parsons is senior pastor of St. Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford and edits Tabletalk magazine.
Dr. Burk Parsons, senior pastor at St. Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Florida, and the editor of Ligonier’s Tabletalk magazine, is reportedly under investigation by the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).
Burk Parsons / Video screenshot @Ligonier Ministries
According to minutes of the Central Florida Presbytery, the Minister and His Work committee found sufficient evidence to warrant an investigation into Parsons. A vote taken on November 19, 2024, states the committee believes there is a “strong presumption of guilt” that “Parsons may have violated [ordination] vows 5 & 7.”
According to the PCA Book of Church Order, those vows state the following:
- #5 Have you been induced, as far as you know your own heart, to seek the office of the holy ministry from love to God and a sincere desire to promote His glory in the Gospel of His Son?
- #7 Do you engage to be faithful and diligent in the exercise of all your duties as a Christian and a minister of the Gospel, whether personal or relational, private or public; and to endeavor by the grace of God to adorn the profession of the Gospel in your manner of life, and to walk with exemplary piety before the flock of which God shall make you overseer?
The November 19 decision goes on to name the members of the judicial commission who will conduct the case and names the prosecutor as Teaching Elder Jerry Klemm.
Klemm has been senior pastor of Covenant Church Palm Bay since 2008.
MinistryWatch was informed that the presbytery trial of Parsons is likely to be held in January.
This is not the first investigation into charges against Parsons by the presbytery. According to minutes of the same presbytery from April 9, 2019, Parsons was also investigated and adjudicated on charges that year. The minutes did not state the nature of the charges, but said they were not found to be “base or flagitious.”
The PCA Book of Church Order requires that a “base or flagitious” matter must result in the minister’s suspension or deposition from office.
The 2019 commission report included statements that the “court accept[ed] as genuine [Teaching Elder] Parsons’ expression of repentance” and approved a censure of admonition.
The letter of admonition was apparently read to Parsons in the presence of the judicial commission, but its contents were not included in the minutes.
In addition to his position as senior pastor of St. Andrew’s—the church formerly led by Dr. R.C. Sproul, whom Parsons has called a mentor and “spiritual father”—Parsons is the chief editorial officer for Ligonier Ministries and a Ligonier teaching fellow. He holds master’s and doctoral degrees from Reformed Theological Seminary and is an associate editor for the Reformation Study Bible.
In the MinistryWatch database, Ligonier Ministries receives only 1 out of 5 stars for financial efficiency, a D transparency grade, and a donor confidence score of 35 out of 100, meaning donors should withhold giving.
Neither St. Andrew’s Chapel nor Ligonier Ministries replied to a request for comment before the time of publication.
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