RECOVERY | FEATURE

SOLDIER INSIDE ON THE

Locked behind bars, Paul A. Jordan is determined to answer God’s call

— by WARREN L. MAYE

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

—Romans 12:2

I have learned how to listen for the voice of God and say ‘yes’ to the Holy Spirit. That is what’s been leading me on this journey,” said Paul A. Jordan, a former firefighter and Emergency Disaster Services employee for The Salvation Army in Pennsylvania. “I never thought that I’d end up in prison, but I am here. But while I’m here, I’m hearing the voice and reading the word of God.”

A call unanswered

Jordan, now 34, first heard God’s call when he was a young Salvationist of 12 years old. “I was at summer camp, and I still remember the theme. It was Romans 12:2, ‘be transformed by the renewing of your mind.’ That’s when I accepted Christ.” Some years later, young Paul attended The Salvation Army’s Youth Councils. It was then that he also felt the call to officership.

By age 24, however, the pressures of life caused Paul to take a tragic turn. It came one day during a fit of rage at the LaMott Fire Company in Elkins Park, Pa. He got fired. The morning after, he stormed into the firehouse and took hostage four former colleagues in the basement at gunpoint. Jordan fired a shot past the head of one of them. The bullet embedded itself in a sheetrock wall. Several other firefighters escaped and called police.

But conversations ensued, and two firefighters from another fire department found a way to carefully talk Jordan into surrendering. As armed SWAT team officers descended into the basement, Jordan’s fellow firefighters formed a human wall around him to make sure the police did not open fire. Mark Logan, the company’s president, later said of Jordan, “He loved the job, and he was very upset that he wasn’t going to be doing it anymore.”

Witnesses said the action by his colleagues protected him from harm and spoke to their remarkable concern and affection for him. “We were in there for about 45 minutes,” remembers Jordan. “I tried committing suicide and all of that.” Fortunately, no one was injured.

Jordan, who had no previous criminal record, cried openly in court. The firefighters also expressed their deep appreciation for the kindness and concern they received from members of the community. Eventually, Jordan was sentenced: 10 to 20 years in prison with the possibility of parole in 2024.

A call renewed

Today, Jordan reflects on that time with mixed feelings. “I made a stupid choice and under mental duress. But I also don’t think that this event defines me,” he said during a recent interview with SA connects.

“My dream is to be a Salvation Army officer one day—someone who has a wealth of knowledge about individuals who have suffered crises, and who knows how to use discernment and the Holy Spirit to help save souls.”

His training in Emergency Disaster Services (EDS) work had begun when he was still a child. “When I was about 12 years old, I would rush home from school every day to help with the 9/11 stuff that was going on,” Jordan said. “They wrote an article about me on that in The War Cry magazine. That led to volunteering, since I was maybe 15 years old. That turned into a position for me.” He worked in EDS for seven years alongside veteran first responders as they faced tumultuous events in the Philadelphia area.

A covenant renewed

Jordan, who keeps his Salvation Army Soldier’s Covenant taped to his prison bunkbed, is also a devoted fan of the Army’s founder. “In one of my favorite quotes from William Booth, he said, ‘If I had to learn how to play trombone with my toes and walk on my head just to see one more soul saved, I would learn how to do that.’ I can relate to that, you know.”

The Soldier’s Covenant is the first thing Jordan reads in the morning and the last thing he reads at night. “It reminds me of the morals that I’ve sworn to uphold before God,” he said. “I’m a soldier behind enemy lines now.”

Jordan is also a certified peer counselor and an alcohol and other drug counselor. He is active in the prison’s therapeutic community and participates in many support meetings as a teacher, preacher, instrumentalist, and Bible study leader.

An advocate for God

Most important, Jordan sees himself as an advocate for men and women who are stereotyped and stigmatized for having been incarcerated and diagnosed as mentally ill. “When I first got arrested, I was going through some mental health issues myself.” Today, he wonders, if he had been in a different jurisdiction, would he have been put on probation and offered more extensive mental health services instead of jail time?

“ I’M HEARING THE VOICE AND READING THE WORD OF GOD.”

“I praise God today that I’m no longer on any kind of medication or anything. When I’m feeling that type of way, I turn to worship. I turn it up. Theology is my psychology. I had mental health issues, yes. It was a struggle, but now I’m healed. So, I use it as an example to say, ‘You can obtain the same thing, but it must be by faith.’”

Pastor Tony Lewis, an envoy of The Salvation Army, and well known in the Philadelphia community, has been a mentor to Jordan during his ongoing struggle. Lewis has grown to deeply understand Jordan’s complicated life.

“I have known Paul for over 15 years,” says Lewis. “I see him as a son and me as his spiritual pastor and dad. He has called me basically every day for over eight years. “During that time, I’ve seen him grow as a godly man: spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and in every aspect of character.”

Lewis, who during his service as a Salvation Army officer has worked with many men who have faced life’s challenges, sees a hopeful future for Jordan. “I see Paul as a leader going far in the vision the Lord has given him. He is someone called to reach the mentally, spiritually, and socially impaired.”

With respect to Jordan’s call to be an officer, Lewis says, “If God, in His sovereignty, desires.”

Greg Maresca, who recently retired from the Department of Corrections as Jordan’s counselor, said, “Paul excelled as the best peer assistant I had in my nearly 34­year tenure. I look forward to his success.”

A day at a time

These past 10 years, Jordan has also kept a diary. It contains snippets of his daily life “behind the wall.”

“I’m writing throughout the day about things that come to mind,” he said, “things that the Holy Spirit shares with me.”

Losing his mom in 2020 was a wake­up call for Jordan. Her death made his spiritual life more of a necessity. “In that sense, it was the greatest gift that God has ever given me. I thought, I’ve got to get to Heaven if I ever want to eat her pepper steak and rice again.”

Jordan believes God has called him to help people on the outside of prison to see and understand those on the inside. To accomplish this, he has written the following, which he hopes will be the basis for a series of articles someday.

Soldiers Behind the Wall

— by Paul A. Jordan

Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them.

—2 Timothy 2:3–4, NLT

Allow me to set the scene for you. It’s 6 p.m. on a Thursday night. In a room are people who have murdered, robbed, raped, kidnapped, lied, and cheated. They are people of all races, cultures, and nationalities.

However, they all have two things in common: They know that they need a Savior. The other is that they are strong men of God! This group comes together every week to worship in spirit and in truth.

According to the world’s standards, they are all second-class citizens. They are those who had once claimed to be “alpha dogs” but who now believe that “the Alpha and the Omega” will one day require every knee to bow and every tongue to confess that He is Lord of all.

They know that the punishment imposed on them by the state for their crimes can’t compare with the pain of not knowing Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior. They encourage each other, lay hands on one another in prayer, and come together in good and bad times. This is only a glimpse into their inspiring stories. The media will never show you the healing that takes place, men who are being saved, and the glory God is receiving in the midst of spiritual darkness. These are the stories from the soldiers behind the wall!

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