Elizabethtown, PA, youth pastor pleads not guilty in fake kidnapping

Pastor Andrew Jordan was arrested this past July and charged with false imprisonment and simple assault stemming from a mock kidnapping in March that was intended to be a lesson in religious persecution.

Jordan has plead not guilty to the charges, which include allegations that interrogation and staged torture also took place. The church has also denied the allegations.

Jordan, 28, was the youth pastor of Glad Tidings Assembly of God Church, near Middletown. He has waived an appearance Thursday at an arraignment in the Dauphin County Court.

According to a grand jury report, some teenagers who were attending a youth group meeting at the church when someone turned off the lights. Then, men with weapons and flashlights ordered the teens to the floor, then bound their wrists and put pillow cases over their heads.

The they were hastily put in a van and driven around the neighborhood before being put into a basement without any windows. It was in that basement where the interrogation and simulated torture of Pastor Jordan took place.

The complaint was filed by the mother of one of the teenagers, who was not a member of the church. The young girl was fourteen years old.

Local news outlets reported that Attorney William A. DeStefano stated that the mock raid was intended to show the dangerous scenarios Christians can face on missionary trips, and that previous, similar lessons have been held by the church.

Al Stefanelli

Al serves on the Board of Directors for The Clergy Project, and is the former Georgia State Director for American Atheists, Inc. He is a retired journalist and the author of "Free Thoughts - A Collection Of Essays By An American Atheist" and "A Voice Of Reason In An Unreasonable World - The Rise Of Atheism On Planet Earth." Al began writing in 1985, starting with the New York Times. In 1993 he joined a McClatchy newspaper, writing a weekly column for ten years. His writing continues to be widely distributed on the Internet and in print. He also produced and hosted a weekly syndicated radio broadcast for three years and was the founder and President of the former United Atheist Front, Inc., which functioned as a civil rights organization. Al is a former Southern Baptist Pastor, having served two churches and as pulpit supply for three counties. Currently, he writes for The God Discussion, hosts his own blog on WordPress, submits content to a variety of publications, and co-hosts "American Heathen Radio" and "Reap Sow Radio." Al lives in Peachtree City, GA., a suburb of Atlanta.

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