By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Tuesday, October 14, 2025

Leaders at Legacy Faith Church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, are defending their founding pastor, Philip Thornton, after he came under fire for repeatedly pointing an unloaded gun at congregants during a September sermon they say was used as a prop to encourage "spiritual violence against unbelief."

"At the beginning, Pastor Thornton makes it abundantly clear the rifle was a PROP and for illustration purposes only. The firearm was disabled (firing pin removed), cleared, and publicly shown to be ammo free. The illustration was designed to show believers how unbelief is an enemy to faith," the church said in a statement to WHP.

Thorton's controversial sermon titled "Clearing the Room" was streamed on YouTube on Sept. 28. At times during the sermon, he would point the gun at congregants, along with another man also armed with an assault-style rifle. A laser light also bounced off congregants in the front row.

"He [God] cleared the room. He [God] put 'em all out, he went in like a soldier. Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence," Thornton said in his message as he tried to assure the congregation that the gun was safe. "And don't worry, the light's bright. Right? There's nothing in the gun; hands off the trigger. Light's bright, laser's there. I could get you, any one of you."

While church members did not appear rattled by Thornton's gun-toting at the pulpit, gun safety experts told Penn Live that his actions violate the first two rules of gun safety — treat all guns as loaded and always point the gun in a safe direction.

"Frankly, if I was there with my family, I would have ushered us all out the door as quickly as I could have, and I probably would have gone up to him in a tactful way and said, 'You've got to stop this," Emanuel Kapelsohn, a nationally recognized firearms, tactics and use-of-force expert, told the publication.

David Sarni, adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a retired New York Police Department detective, said Thornton is "the model example of people who mishandle weapons."

"I understand the message he's trying to do. But there are so many ways you could do that message without pointing a weapon at your members," he said.

Despite the criticism, Legacy Faith Church leaders insisted that there was no intention to make their church unsafe while the pastor used the gun as a prop in his message.

"Two scriptural precedents were utilized showing where both Jesus and Peter had to 'clear the room' of 'unbelief' in order for the needed miracle to take place. Further examples were given showing how military training teaches soldiers to work together as a team to complete their mission," the church said. "The teaching for 'believers' was intended to encourage spiritual violence towards unbelief and the lack of faith, not towards people. Matthew 11:12 / 1 Corinthians 2:14."