Burnett was ordained deacon in 1974 and priest in 1975. He served as curate at St John's Church in
Pascagoula, Mississippi between 1974 and 1976, and then as assistant priest at St James' Church in
Jackson, Mississippi between 1976 and 1980. He became vicar of the Church of the Creator in
Clinton, Mississippi in 1980, and then rector of St Peter's by the Sea in
Gulfport, Mississippi in 1984. In 1991, he became rector of
Trinity Church in
Hattiesburg, Mississippi, a post he served in till 1999. He was then appointed Professor of Pastoral Theology at the School of Theology of the
University of the South, where he remained until 2003. ==Bishop==