Joel Thornton

A common sense conservative.

Israel and the Steps of Jesus

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Israel is rapidly becoming one of my favorite destinations. It is not that hard to do, because Israel is a land that anyone who grew up in Sunday School has heard all the stories of ancient Israel—it is a part of our DNA. The first time I traveled to Israel was almost a year ago as I write this blog. I was full of anticipation because I love to travel, especially some place new. When we landed in Tel Aviv I was filled with excitement, but I had no idea what a magical time awaited me. I found Israel to be inviting. It was everything I had imagined and more. Everyone I knew who had ever been to Israel had told me that it was like nothing you could imagine. I did not believe them, thinking they were just talking in hyperbole. Little did I know they were right.

As a disclaimer: this is a steps of Jesus tour, so you should be prepared for a lot of walking, up hills, down hills, up stairs and down stairs. Israel does not make a lot of accommodations for the handicapped, so there is literally no wheel chair access to many of the sights we will be seeing. Likewise, there are no elevators or escalators either.

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Pastor Derek walking and talking, Caroline filming

We filmed at the top of the city.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Switzerland, A Touch of Heaven on Earth

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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.

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Interesting Times in Bulgaria

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This trip to Bulgaria, my fourth, was the most interesting one so far. First, we were in three cities. Usually when we travel we are in one or two cities. We were working with local ministers in Sliven where there is a thriving Christian community. One of the things I learned in Sliven is that homeschooling is considered illegal in Bulgaria. Also, Christian private schools are not allowed, except for Orthodox schools.

This is not unusual in an Orthodox country. In these countries it is considered normal for the church to have much greater influence than is typical in America and Western Europe. This is a two-edged sword. It means that there is teaching regarding Christian principles in the schools. At the same time, there is less tolerance for evangelical beliefs in public.

It is one of the ideals our founding fathers did not want when they envisioned a church that was free from state influence and a world where the state was free from denominational church influence.

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Touring Germany (and Poland) in 2021

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We are currently talking to folks about a possible Germany and Poland tour in the next year or so. So, it seems like a good idea to talk about it. Germany is one of my favorite countries in the world. A good friend of mine once described Germany as the Disney World of Countries because it is so clean and so organized. I have to agree with him.

Germany is a country full of differing geographies. It has the Alps to the south and the ocean to the north. It has plains and river valleys that are like nothing you have ever seen. Castles from centuries ago, homes that are taken straight out of fairy tales, and sausages everywhere. On top of that, there is a local beer and huge, fresh pretzels in every town. Germany has the best beer in the world and there is a festival in late September and early October known as Oktoberfest to celebrate the beer in a way that only Germans can celebrate.

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