Cracks in the Sproul Empire

https://ministrywatch.com/st-andrews-chapel-salaries-well-above-median-salary-in-the-region

This report matters because these are 'respected' ministries and leaders and yet their conduct (as reported in the article) raises eyebrows. I think it is glimpse behind the veil. I think this kind of corruption is far from being an anomaly. There are abuses of power on many levels, corruption, and rank greed. The numbers involved aren't on the level of a Wall Street scandal that makes the national news but for individuals these are serious salaries that pay for a very nice lifestyle and the people in these institutions and bureaucracies are not going to just give them up and go away quietly.

It's also about control - who controls these bureaucracies. And all along the way everyone is pulling out their own versions of canon law and their (largely farcical) appeals to Scripture. The entire episode (in all its facets) stinks and is a tale of people who have lost their way. We're not talking about Charismatic kooks on the television, or Roman prelates in flashy robes. No, these are 'Reformed' people, respected members in a Confessional denomination.

The whole story is about money and mammon worship. It changes values and corrupts - something both Christ and the apostles tried to tell us. And yet it's a message that is simply ignored or explained away. It affects how people wield authority and how they deal with others. RC Sproul's congregation has always been marked by shady practice. He stayed in the PCA (and advocated for Presbyterianism) but kept own his church out - free from outside control. And Ligonier Ministries (his brand) has always been about profits - often obscene, and yet they've always managed to paper over any scandal connected to that issue. They've always paid ridiculous salaries even while they charge top dollar for their materials. And yet I realize that non-profits don't technically make a 'profit' - but that doesn't mean that the institution can't grow wealthy or that individuals within it are somehow committed to poverty. Far from it.

Ministry Watch, the Evangelical watchdog website takes exception to Burk Parson's $400k salary but then absurdly has no issue with the fact that the supposed average pastoral salary in Central Florida is in excess of $120k - only slightly less obscene. Parsons was of course earning another exorbitant salary from Ligonier as well. It must be rough living on over $40,000 a month - and then we don't even know what kind of perks he also has in terms of housing, vehicles, travel, and the like. A normal pastor should apparently only make $10k a month. That's much more reasonable, right?

These are hirelings not shepherds. This explains everything that's going on.

As far as the scandal with the disgruntled and discipline-escaping elder (who was also the well paid president of Sproul's Reformation Bible College) and the overpaid 'youth pastor' - it's all too typical of ecclesiastical power struggles. It's also par for the course when it comes to Presbyterianism and its 'Good old boy' style of governance - always dressed up in ecclesiastical lingo. My interactions with PCA and OPC bureaucracies has always reeked of corruption and subterfuge. It's a struggle over power and control of the narrative. It's about canon law and confusion regarding the Church and state - never mind the absurdity of youth ministers (in general) as well as them making six-figure salaries.

Am I attacking Christ's Church? By no means. These denominations are para-church organisations that operate like hierarchical businesses. They are rightly treated with contempt and their corruption needs to be exposed and explained. The sooner these bureaucracies collapse the better. It will only help Christ's Church.

Don't support them and don't buy anything from Ligonier. There's much more that could be said about Sproul's actual teaching, but leaving that aside, the whole thing is swindle. Aside from the areas of doctrinal difference, I came to finally understand the guy was just a crook - cashing in on God's people and making merchandise of them. I know of so many people who wanted his materials but couldn't afford them. I usually tried to steer them elsewhere but Sproul was a master at tapping into middle and upper class sensibilities and style. He justified their values and made them comfortable, affirming them in their comfort, respectability, and decadence.

Sproul helped me thirty years ago to move into the realm of Reformed theology but not long after he became suspect and as the years and decades passed my estimation of him continued to plummet - as did the many narratives and paradigms I was taught in connection to Calvinism and the Magisterial Reformation.

I know Sproul's followers are desperate to keep his Ligonier gravy train rolling - no small feat given it was all built around the person of RC Sproul (1939-2017). And yet clearly they've learned little. I realize St. Andrew's Chapel is a separate entity, but at the same time it cannot be wholly divorced from Ligonier. They certainly are joined at the hip with considerable overlap. The statement from St. Andrew's regarding financial integrity, transparency, and stewardship to the glory of God are just laughable.

I lament the fact that many have been misled, and the collapse of the Sproul empire would harm the faith of some - but at that point I must ask, just what was the nature of their faith?

The Sproul Empire may yet persevere. Money can work wonders but if it falls by the wayside - it may be for the best. One hopes these ecclesiastics will reflect and repent, but given the level of their investment, it's not something I look for.