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Joel Thornton

A common sense conservative.

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Archives for June 2020

Photo essay “Behind the Scenes: Beyond the Four Walls–Ukraine”

June 29, 2020 by Joel Thornton

A few years back we began filming on a series of Beyond the Four Walls. We began in Ukraine, where the vision began for Pastor Derek. Here is a look behind the scenes, to whet your appetite for the video series that is coming in the next year or less.

A group of people walking in front of a building

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Pastor Derek and Caroline walking through downtown filming

We boldly invaded the city of Kiev and shot on the streets, using the locals as our “extras.” There was very little scripting, Pastor Derek was anointed and the show flowed out of him.

A statue of two people standing in front of a building

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Taking in the sights, Pastor Derek and Caroline

The program is about the vision of taking the church through the streets, into the halls of government, business, education, entertainment, and elsewhere, taking the Kingdom of God to the kingdoms of this earth, just like Jesus.

A person walking down a street

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Pastor Derek walking and talking, Caroline filming

We filmed at the top of the city.

A picture containing fence, chair, metal, sitting

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Pastor Derek looking over a local statue

We filmed in front of their sacred statues, celebrating the overcoming of the harsh past of Ukraine.

A person standing on a sidewalk

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Pastor Derek and Caroline doing a standup in the heart of Kiev

We filmed in front of government buildings, talking always about the Gospel of the Kingdom.

A picture containing outdoor, smoke, man, riding

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Pastor Derek and Caroline doing a standup in the heart of downtown Kiev

We filmed in the heart of the city. Proclaiming the coming of the Gospel of the Kingdom. It was powerful.

Text Box: Green screening with Pastor Derek who is being given make-up
Green screening with Pastor Derek, a make-up break

We also set up a homemade green screen so that we could do some of the filming in a place where the outside noises were kept to a minimum. That is of course, until the church praise team took off worshiping.

Filed Under: Tour Ukraine

Switzerland, A Touch of Heaven on Earth

June 28, 2020 by Joel Thornton

Switzerland is unreal. It will constantly stop you in your tracks with sights that you can’t believe you are seeing. Its alpine valleys beg you to come into the country. The majestic Alps are amazing in so many ways. I get mesmerized every time I am there.

Because of its size it is an easy country to tour. Because of its mountain range it is a difficult country to get through. The train system runs with Germanic efficiency. Some of the train stations look like sets straight out of the movies.

In fact, the highest train station in Europe is in Switzerland in the Jungfrau Region of the Alps. It sits at 11,821 feet above sea level. I was there in the middle of July a number of years ago and the high temperature for the day was 32 degrees.

[Read more…] about Switzerland, A Touch of Heaven on Earth

Filed Under: Tour Switzerland Tagged With: alpine valleys, alps, Bern, Interlaken, JOhn F. Kennedy Jr., Jungfrau, Jungfraujoch, Lake Zurich, Lauterbrunnen, Leonardo Da Vinci, Limmat River, Strasbourg, Switzerland, Wengen, Zurich, Zytglogge

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