I'll admit it " when they told us that they had lost eleven of our bags, including most of the camera equipment, I felt a glow of pleasure. It was the first time I'd felt calm about the Life of Jesus documentary series since we'd begun planning some nine months ago.

Those people who enjoyed The Christ Files documentary presented by well-known author, speaker and historian John Dickson, will be pleased to know that the team that brought it to completion did not dissolve shortly after. Plans were soon hatched for a follow-up series that would be based largely in Israel.

The Christ Files uncovered the documents that real historians rely on to tell them about the Jesus of history. The Life of Jesus series picks up where that series left off, unearthing the Jesus historians see in the earliest reliable manuscripts, particularly the Gospel of Luke.

And that is what has brought the seven of us to Israel. After exhaustive months of planning, we set out from Sydney airport to follow Jesus' footsteps the length and breadth of this coveted country. At least that was the plan"

After an exhausting 26 hours in the air we arrived at Ben Gurion airport to discover that we would have far less to declare at customs than we thought. Most of our bags, including a significant portion of our camera equipment, had been lost in The Traveller's Black Hole, better known as Heathrow. It had all been marked "Priority' and so the conscientious baggage handlers there weren't about to just commit it to the hold of any old aircraft, including the one we were on. Consequently, it is arriving a day later (God willing) on its own special flight.

Now, as can be expected, there was much grinding and gnashing of teeth amongst the crew when the helpful people at the Tel Aviv airport delivered this disturbing news. After all we were due to start filming at 8.30 am the next morning. However, I wasn't among the grieving party. I had never been on so well organised a shoot before in my entire career and it had made me somewhat nervous. I kept wondering throughout the flight whether I would be so busy in the land "where it all began' that I would forget the One who began a new life in me. It may not seem credible to some, however I can only say that this is my seventh documentary in Israel and I was disturbed to find myself becoming a little jaded as I packed my bags.

However God has stepped in early on in the project to ensure that we rely on Him from day one. This is how a documentary shoot should be " half careful preparation, half Indiana Jones. As we wait for the rest of our camera equipment to arrive, I don't doubt there will be some frantic juggling of the shooting schedule ahead, some bargaining, and just a little dodging of large rolling stones as we seek to gain entry to various sites. But that's all right by me. If God saw fit to destabilise our perfect plans, then you can bet it is because He has something better in mind.

Feel free to check back on this blog over the coming days and we can find out what it is together.

The Life of Jesus crew is John Dickson (Presenter), Allan Dowthwaite (Director), Greg Clarke (Presenter / Researcher), Mal Hamilton & Paul Moss (Camera operators), Neil Kelly (Sound recordist) and Mark Hadley (Producer).