Stephen Nichols to leave Reformation Bible College

Within days of each other, three prominent Reformed institutions announced the departure of church historian Stephen Nichols. The author has served as a teaching fellow at Ligonier Ministries and notably as the president of Reformation Bible College for 12 years.

The chairman of RBC’s board of directors, Robert Wohleber, wrote in a blog that Nichols would leave by May 31. MinistryWatch recently reported that Ligonier President and CEO Chris Larson notified supporters that Nichols would leave his post at Ligonier by the same date. And Nichols recently said on social media that Saint Andrew’s Chapel of Sanford, Fla., excommunicated him and his wife, Heidi, for refusing to submit to the church’s authority.

Ligonier, RBC, and Saint Andrew’s Chapel were founded by the late Reformed theologian R.C. Sproul. Nichols wrote a biography of Sproul and was considered by many to be one of his successors alongside Saint Andrew’s senior pastor, Burk Parsons, who also serves as a teaching fellow at Ligonier and its chief editorial officer.

What’s behind the turmoil? Saint Andrew’s discipline of Nichols seemed to stem from a fallout with the church’s leadership, including its associate pastor of youth and family ministries, Stephen Adams, who recently resigned. As of Friday, Adams was still listed on the church's website despite announcing his resignation. Adams and Nichols recently wrote about each other on social media, but WORLD is not reporting the details of their individual claims until these can be further substantiated. 

Saint Andrew’s voted in December to leave the Presbyterian Church of America after the Central Florida Presbytery in June suspended Parsons from ministry on church government charges of harsh treatment toward congregants. Parsons is appealing this sentence. Nichols said in a statement that upon the church’s vote to disaffiliate from the PCA, he and his wife immediately resigned their membership and joined another PCA church. He thanked RBC and Ligonier for conducting themselves “in an amicable, gracious, and honorable manner during this season of transition.”