

Ep. 443: Ligonier Ministries, Elevation Church, Liberty University, and Church Planting in the Pacific Northwest
Feb 28, 2025
27:07
On today’s program, Dr. Burk Parsons of Ligonier Ministries has been suspended from pastoral duties at St. Andrew’s Chapelwhere he is senior pastor. He is now under investigation by the Central Florida Presbytery. We’ll have details.
And, Elevation Church has fired its youth pastor amid allegations of sexual misconduct from a decade ago. We’ll take a look.
Also, after 16 months of wrangling and civil suits, Beverly Heights Presbyterian Church in Pennsylvania has officially left the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.
But first, a former Liberty University employee is suing the school for discrimination and retaliation.
The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. We get database and other technical support from Stephen DuBarry, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Writers who contributed to today’s program include Kim Roberts, Bethany Starin, Jessica Eturralde, Yonat Shimron, Aaron Earls, Brittany Smith, and Christina Darnell.
Until next time, may God bless you.
MANUSCRIPT:
FIRST SEGMENT
Warren:
Hello everybody. I’m Warren Smith, coming to you this week from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
Natasha:
And I’m Natasha Cowden, coming to you from Denver, Colorado, and we’d like to welcome you to the MinistryWatch podcast.
Warren:
On today’s program, Dr. Burk Parsons of Ligonier Ministries has been suspended from pastoral duties at St. Andrew’s Chapel, where he is senior pastor. He is now under investigation by the Central Florida Presbytery. We’ll have details.
And, Elevation Church has fired its youth pastor amid allegations of sexual misconduct from a decade ago. We’ll take a look.
Also, after 16 months of wrangling and civil suits, Beverly Heights Presbyterian Church in Pennsylvania has officially left the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.
Natasha:
But first, a former Liberty University employee is suing the school for discrimination and retaliation.
Warren:
A former professor and investigator at Liberty University has filed a federal lawsuit against the school and its leaders for discrimination and retaliation under Title IX, the Uniformed Services Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), and the Virginia Whistleblower Protection Law.
Peter Brake is a Liberty graduate and an attorney who served for over 20 years as a U.S. Army Judge Advocate. He was employed in 2019 as a full-time Civil Rights Investigator in Liberty’s Office of Equity and Compliance/Title IX and as an adjunct professor.
While employed at Liberty, Brake took a 3½-year leave of absence starting in January 2020 to serve active duty with the U.S. Army. He had moved to reserve military duty at this point.
Natasha:
What happened?
Warren:
According to the lawsuit, Brake’s absence was referred to by Liberty administrators as a “problem” because they were required to hold his position while he served in the U.S. Army.
Upon his return in October 2023, Brake claims he suffered discrimination in violation of the USERRA.
Brake also claims he was fired after making “good faith reports” about violations of Title IX and the Clery Act at Liberty.
Natasha:
In November 2023, Brake claims he told Liberty President Dondi Costin about the Title IX office ignoring grievance procedure requirements, noting that some cases had been sitting idle for a year without resolution.
Warren:
In an email exchange with Costin, Costin allegedly assured Brake that “your leadership understands that retaliation is not allowed around here, so don’t give that possibility another thought.”
After Liberty reached a settlement agreement of $14 million for Clery Act violations, Brake said he reported more violations. He was then allegedly subjected to a “humiliating and unusual interrogation” by Liberty’s human resources department and other harassment.
In May, Brake filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Education against Liberty and filed a Title IX complaint. Brake was fired in June.