Filming "Inside The Revolution" in the epicenter

Thanks so much for your prayers and patience. I haven’t updated the blog for more than a week and I apologize for that. As you know, I was just in Israel for a week. In Jerusalem, I had the privilege of speaking at a conference on the Iranian nuclear threat, and had the privilege of speaking at several Israeli congregations on how to live for Jesus Christ as servant leaders in the midst of the critical leadership crisis now affecting all the nations of the epicenter. After that, I traveled to Istanbul, Turkey, where we were shooting part of the Inside The Revolution documentary film overlooking the famed Blue Mosque. We had a great time with our U.S. and Turkish film crew (there was even a Starbucks nearby), and I am feeling very good about how the production is going. We still have a number of interviews still to do, but Lord willing we should wrap up principal photography by early January. The current plan is to have the film completed by summer 2009 and to release it in time for the September 11th anniversary. I will keep you updated as we go. Meanwhile, I finished the final chapter of the Inside The Revolution manuscript while in Jerusalem. The book is now typeset and going through one more round of copy editing. Lord willing, it releases on March 10th of next year. All that to say, I just got back from more than two weeks on the road. It’s good to be home with my wife and boys, and celebrating Thanksgiving together as a family. May the Lord bless you and your family as you reflect on God’s goodness and mercy as well.

* To listen to or watch Joel’s sermon in Jerusalem on “The 10 Secrets of the Victorious Christian Life” in light of the dramatic and dangerous events underway in the epicenter, please click here.

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HEADLINES TO TRACK:

* RUSSIAN ANALYST PREDICTS DECLINE AND BREAKUP OF USA

* Russia’s Medvedev’s Tough Guy Act: New Russian President Seems To Be Reviving Adversarial Relations With The U.S.

* Russia’s upper house of parliament has approved a bill extending presidential terms from four to six years

* Iran reports rocket launch amid nuclear tension

* Iran urges Lebanese to unite against Israel

* Iran’s Game-changer: Long-Range Missile Test Challenges Obama