This is the personal blog of Craig Dunning. I am the husband of Colleen (née Childers). Colleen and I met as we were both preparing to go overseas. I am thankful that Al Gore “invented the Internet” because that was an important communication tool for us while Colleen was in Czech Republic and I was in Israel. We were married August 7, 1999. We have two children: Grace was born in Netanya, Israel in January 2004 and Zachariah (aka Zach, Z, and Bubba) was born in Odessa, Texas in April 2011.
In June 2016, I joined the faculty of Baptist Bible College (BBC) in Springfield, Missouri. I serve as the lead professor of Missions and Intercultural Studies. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Bible from Arlington Baptist College, a Master’s in Biblical History and Geography from Jerusalem University College, and a PhD in Science of Religion and Missiology from the University of Pretoria. My dissertation, “Palestinian Muslims converting to Christianity: effective evangelistic methods in the West Bank,” is available for free download.
I began my classroom teaching career at Arlington Baptist College in June 2011 after a thirteen-years residence in Israel. This was my second stint in Israel during which I served churches in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Hadera. In addition to my local church ministries, I also participated in a variety of local and national outreaches that were sponsored/coordinated by the National Evangelism Committee, was a regular chapel speaker at The Master’s College: Ibex, guided the 2009 Master’s College Chorale Israel Study Concert Tour and other tour groups, regularly presented a three-part lecture series to Educational Opportunities’ tour groups, and always carried a camera to hone my photography skills. Some of my photographs have been included in the 2012 edition of The Pictorial Library of Bible Lands (Thanks again, Todd!), Zondervan’s KJV Study Bible, The Jerusalem Post, US Government Training programs, tour company advertisements, church bulletins, and, of course, here at Pardon My Interruption.
Also during this time, I served the Israel Association of Baseball as a national team coach, club team coach, member of the national board of directors, umpire, umpire trainer, and peace envoy. I’m honored to have received the Israel Association of Baseball Outstanding Achievement Award in 2010.
During my first stint in Israel, I spent three years as a student at Jerusalem University College and doubled-up during two of those years (1991-1993) working with a new church plant, the Jerusalem Assembly House of Redemption.
