Prosecutor of Burk Parsons Speaks About Process, Evidence in Church Trial
Jerry Klemm denies there is any “witch hunt” of Parsons in the Central Florida Presbytery.
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Jerry Klemm, a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), knew that being chosen to prosecute the case against St. Andrew’s Chapel senior pastor and Ligonier Ministries teaching fellow Burk Parsons over the last several months would be taxing. 
What he didn’t expect were the hours of counseling and comfort he would need to oversee for those who came forward about the hurt and wounds they have experienced.
One mother, who sought help from Parsons several years ago during a time of tremendous family pain, said Parsons told her the pain was caused by her being a “bad mother.” She weeps even now when she retells that story, Klemm said.
Klemm, who pastors a congregation about an hour away from Orlando in Palm Bay, Florida, says he has nothing against Parsons. In fact, he had defended Parsons several times in the past while St. Andrew’s Chapel was an independent church.
“The Central Florida Presbytery does not have it out for Burk Parsons,” Klemm told MinistryWatch. “The complaints came from within [the church], and we have to respond to them according to the Book of Church Order.”
Klemm pointed out that one of the reasons St. Andrew’s Chapel joined the PCA was because they understood that accountability and the protection of the presbytery and General Assembly were a good thing. “What has changed?” Klemm queried rhetorically.
St. Andrew’s is planning a vote about leaving the PCA in July.
A year ago, in July 2024, the presbytery received its first complaint in the matter from a member of St. Andrew’s Chapel. Over the next few weeks, two more complaints were outlined, Klemm said.
Klemm serves as the chair of the Minister and His Work committee for the Central Florida Presbytery, of which St. Andrew’s Chapel is a part. The committee handles problems, complaints, and accusations against pastors.
So, when they received the complaints against Parsons, a subcommittee was formed to interview individuals about the issues. They did not accept any accusations or evidence related to a previous event in 2018 and 2019 for which Parsons had already pleaded guilty.
After hearing the reports, the subcommittee brought a recommendation to form a judicial commission, and Klemm was asked to be the prosecutor.
He began to conduct in-depth interviews of witnesses in December 2024. Originally, he had a list of about 50 potential witnesses. Out of those, 15 did not want to testify, about eight said they had no issues pertaining to the matter, and seven people agreed to testify then later changed their minds due to fear of retaliation or repercussions.
Of the 19 prosecution witnesses, Klemm said four were teaching elders, four were ruling elders, some were on staff at St. Andrew’s, some were on staff at Ligonier, and some were church members.
The witness testimony dated back as far as 2007 and demonstrated a pattern of domineering, unkind, and harsh behavior, Klemm said.
He saw pain in the eyes of those who had been wounded by their shepherd, and he knew their pain was real. In fact, Covenant Presbyterian Church in Palm Bay, where Klemm is senior pastor, has made funds available for specific victims to receive counseling.
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Parsons was convicted on three charges: “being harsh, ungentle, and unkind to those under his care or with whom he interacts;” “not being a humble servant leader but instead ‘lording it over others’ (i.e. autocratic) and being domineering, contentious, and quarrelsome/pugnacious in his leadership so that those in his care and in his ‘leadership orbit’ were intimidated, bullied, and/or afraid;” and “slandering and/or demeaning other servants and churches of our Lord.”
He was found not guilty on two charges: disregarding the fundamental requirements of Presbyterian polity and being inhospitable and inaccessible to the flock.
Parsons has given notice to the judicial commission that he plans to appeal the verdict and resulting censure of an indefinite suspension from carrying out his duties as a teaching elder.
Klemm praised the men who served on the judicial commission for their “careful attention to detail” and the way they engaged with the witnesses and “held a high standard for a guilty verdict.”
The judicial commission required that each instance given as evidence for the charges be supported by at least two witnesses or forms of evidence.
For the first charge related to harshness, the prosecution had 18 examples, most of which were supported by at least two witnesses or forms of evidence. As Klemm understands it, those examples that fell short of that evidentiary standard were discounted by the judicial commission.
In addition to the woman who was told she was a bad mother, Klemm mentioned an example where a group of young men from Reformation Bible College were assigned to a special project for Ligonier. One young man asked to close the meeting in prayer and testified that Parsons berated him, telling him he was too busy to pray. A teaching elder testified to being present at the meeting and being ashamed for not defending the student at the time.
One of the key events that raised an issue was a lengthy “apology” that Parsons offered in October 2023 after publicly berating someone whose phone went off during the worship service.
The next week, Parsons apparently apologized and said he should have dealt with the issue more thoughtfully and carefully. However, he didn’t stop there. He then started making excuses that he is not naturally gentle or kind and knew he would likely hurt people.
“But you have to understand that, my lack of gentleness, my harshness at times, that’s, that’s my character, OK, that’s who I am. My personality and my character are not—I am not naturally gentle, I am not naturally kind. I don’t do well in little ‘chit chat’ conversations because I don’t know what to say, and I think I’m probably going to probably hurt someone’s feelings at some point,” Parsons said.
A witness with decades of experience in counseling testified about the “apology,” saying it raised several red flags about Parsons, including a lack of remorse and focusing on himself more than the persons who were likely injured.
For the second charge, Klemm presented 10 examples that showed his domineering and autocratic behavior in elder meetings and other settings, citing an example where an elder felt pressured to vote against his conscience in a church discipline case.
Often, Parsons would discourage ruling elders from expressing their true opinion on a matter and would intimidate by putting them on the spot, Klemm said. Several elders testified about their shame in not standing up and saying something in moments like those, he added.
There were also examples of Parsons apparently threatening to fire staff, motivating by fear, and creating anxiety in them.
The third charge of slander was supported by three examples. Klemm said he heard testimony of Parsons’ questioning the salvation of people, calling those he disagreed with “liberals,” and slandering staff members in front of other staff.
About the suspension, Klemm said the goal is for Parsons to come to a place of repentance and reconciliation and to understand the underlying causes for his behavior and get help.
“The narrative that this was a witch hunt is completely untrue,” Klemm said. “And the accusation that the PCA has become liberal and woke is blatantly ridiculous.”
“Church members exercised their rights in bringing a complaint to the presbytery. The process has played out and operated as it was designed,” he added.
MAIN PHOTO: Jerry Klemm, left / Burk Parsons, right
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