Traveling in Paul’s Footsteps
The first time I visited the Holy Land my wife was certain I was sick. I was completely silent as we visited various sites. We’d walk away and I’d say nothing. She asked me, “Are you feeling okay? You are not yourself. What’s going on?” I told her, “I’m just overwhelmed. I’ve read the Bible through many times, but I feel like I’m stepping into the text as we walk in these places. I’m suddenly seeing things in the biblical stories I’d never seen before.” This led to a vision of writing a series of books on the life of Jesus that drew upon insights from actually walking in the footsteps of Jesus in the Holy Land. I took a film crew with me to prepare video clips taking readers of the books to these places. The result was three books with accompanying DVD’s: The Journey (about the birth of Jesus), The Way (about the life of Jesus), and 24 Hours That Changed the World (about the death of Jesus). Last year I traveled to Turkey, Greece, and Italy to retrace the life and ministry of the Apostle Paul. Similar to the Holy Land, I found that actually travelling across Turkey, Greece and Italy, walking along the old Roman roads where Paul walked, and exploring the archaeological sites of the towns where Paul preached helped me to see and hear Paul’s story in Acts and to read his epistles in ways I had not done before. Once again I took a film crew with me. The result of this journey is my latest book, The Call: The Life and Message of the Apostle Paul. The DVD that is available for the book takes readers to many of the places we visited as we filmed. The book includes maps, timelines, and photos of the places that were central in Paul’s life and ministry, while asking and answering the question, What does Paul’s life and message speak to our lives today? As with each of the previous projects, we came back with far more video footage than we could possibly include in the DVD. Over the next month I’ll be posting a few bonus clips that were left on the cutting room floor – short clips of places Paul visited in his journeys. The first two, linked below, are from my visit to the southern coast of Turkey, to the ruins of the ancient city of Perga where Paul landed with Barnabas on Paul’s first missionary journey before heading to the interior of Asia Minor (Turkey) to found churches in the Roman province of Galatia. On their way home from this journey they stopped in Perga once more. The second clip is from Paul’s journey through the Taurus mountains on his way to central Asia Minor. These are two-minute clips that didn’t make it to the DVD for The Call so you’ll only see them here! I’ve also included the promo videos for The Call. Enjoy! Videos (click in the box at the top of the page to view each one): Bonus Scene 1: Paul’s Visit to Perga on His First Missionary Journey from Church of the Resurrection on Vimeo. Bonus Scene 2: Paul’s Travel through the Taurus Mountains (Southern Asia Minor/Turkey) from Church of the Resurrection on Vimeo. The Call Promotional Video The Call Trailer