Palestinian Muslims Coming to Christ, Demographic Issues

July 19, 2014 by Leave a Comment

In this excerpt from my dissertation, I provide demographic information about those who participated in my study. Feel free to interact in the comments or download my dissertation as a free PDF!

The following information is ©2014 University of Pretoria and Craig Dunning and, if used elsewhere, should be cited as:

Dunning, CA (2014) Palestinian Muslims converting to Christianity: effective evangelistic methods in the West Bank. Pretoria, South Africa: University of Pretoria, PhD thesis, pp. 185-189.

4.7 Demographic Issues

In this section, I explain my design rationale for selecting respondents as well as my division of the West Bank into regional districts.

  4.7.1 Number of Participants

In purposive sampling, the number of respondents is “. . . less important than the criteria used to select them” (Wilmot 2010:3). The criteria for the respondents in this study are outlined above in 4.4 Purposive Sampling.

My goal was to gain detailed information from the various West Bank regions, which are described below in 4.7.4 Regional Districts. My attitude was the more participants I could find the better the study would be, but I also had to consider both time and expense. Additionally, since I was completely dependent upon my gatekeepers to identify and recruit respondents, I was limited by their availability and recruiting success.

With those considerations I set a goal of four to seven respondents from each region, totaling twenty to thirty-five interviews. My gatekeepers thought this was a reasonably achievable goal, and it is similar to Greenham (2004) and Kraft (2007) who interviewed twenty-two and thirty-three, respectively. This goal was also within the range of twenty to fifty that Wilmot (2010:4) suggests for in-depth one-on-one interview projects.

In the end, I was able to interview twenty-four respondents.

  4.7.2 Gender

Since this is a non-probabilistic study, the gender sample was not an important consideration for answering the research question. That my research question did not seek to determine effective methodologies specifically among men or women, only among Palestinians, further suggested gender samples were not necessary. However, I did hope for a fairly even sampling of men and women because such a mix might give more specificity to which methods have produced results among men and women rather than the generic Palestinian. But, due to the nature of the people group and my complete dependence upon gatekeepers to recruit respondents, it seemed unwise and impractical to attempt to set a number of male and female samples at the outset. Nevertheless, the interviewed respondents were fairly evenly mixed with thirteen males and eleven females.

  4.7.3 Age Range

Similar to the issue of gender outlined above (4.7.2), the non-probabilistic nature of this study made age considerations unnecessary. Apart from the minimum age of eighteen to participate (see 4.6.5), the gatekeepers were not instructed to recruit respondents from any particular age group.

While there was no attempt to project probability in this study, it is interesting to see the ages of the respondents, which spanned from eighteen to fifty-three years of age, with the bulk of the respondents being between twenty and forty-nine years old (see Figure 8).

Figure 8 - Ages of the respondents at the time of their interviews.

Figure 8 – Ages of the respondents at the time of their interviews.

  4.7.4 Regional Districts

West Bank Divisions

Figure 9 – West Bank region designations. Photo: Public Domain, Product of US Gov’t. Modified by Craig Dunning

Initially, I had divided the West Bank into regions with the following region/city pairings: North/Nablus, Central-West/Ramallah, Central/Jerusalem-Bethlehem, Central-East/Jericho, and South/Hebron. Since I did not need an even sampling to satisfactorily answer my research question, I did not try to pre-determine the sampling locations. However, because I was curious if similar methodologies would be represented in the various regions, I had hoped that I would be able to get fairly even sampling. Ultimately, though, the sampling locations would be determined by my gatekeepers’ abilities to recruit respondents.

Jericho was a surprising disappointment and became the major alteration in my initial division of the West Bank. In spite of having contact with two gatekeepers in Jericho, I was unable to secure a single interview there. As a result of this lack of representation, I removed Jericho from my regional districts.

I also was surprised to see the connectedness of my respondents in Ramallah, East Jerusalem, and Bethlehem, which caused me to reevaluate and group them as one region rather than two as I had initially suggested.

The final regional divisions (see Figure 9) as represented by my respondents were North, Central, and South. The North region, which provided thirteen respondents, is paired with the city of Nablus and its surrounding villages. Ramallah, East Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and their surrounding villages make up the Central district, and accounted for eight interviews. Finally, the Southern district, which accounted for three respondents, includes Hebron and its surrounding villages.

Sources Cited:

Greenham A. (2004) Muslim conversions to Christ: an investigation of Palestinian converts living in the Holy Land. Wake Forest, NC: Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Ph.D. thesis.

Kraft K. (2007) Community and identity among Arabs of a Muslim background who choose to follow a Christian faith. Bristol, England: University of Bristol, Ph.D thesis.

Wilmot A. (2010) Designing sampling strategies for qualitative social research. UK Office for National Statistics (Online). Available at: http://tinyurl.com/lrv5hcv. [Accessed 03 JULY 2013]

Download my dissertation as a free PDF!

NEXT: Palestinian Muslims Coming to Christ, Story #1

Filed Under: Arabs, conversion, cross-cultural, Culture, Evangelism, Intercultural Studies, Islam, Middle East, missionaries, Muslims, Palestine, PhD, PhD excerpts, testimonies, West Bank

Palestinian Muslims Coming to Christ, Invitation

July 16, 2014 by Leave a Comment

This entry is an excerpt from my dissertation that begins a new series in which I highlight my doctoral research, which was an investigation of the process of West Bank Palestinian Muslims coming to faith in Christ. The goal of the research was to find out what these people thought were important and helpful in persuading them to trust Christ.

I interviewed 24 converts, and their conversion-story summaries will be provided as individual blog entries for this series. These stories also will be supplemented with other entries that explain my research process and important findings.

Feel free to interact in the comments or download my dissertation as a free PDF here.

The following information is ©2014 University of Pretoria and Craig Dunning and, if used elsewhere, should be cited as:

Dunning, CA (2014) Palestinian Muslims converting to Christianity: effective evangelistic methods in the West Bank. Pretoria, South Africa: University of Pretoria, PhD thesis, pp. 1-2.

Preface

I like stories. I like to hear them and I like to tell them. One of the things I enjoy most in meeting new people is hearing their stories. Where are they from? What was life like in their childhood? And, if they are Christians, I want to hear the story of how they came to faith in Jesus. I am always thankful to hear a testimony of God’s saving grace, but I am a missionary/pastor, and that makes me also want to know how the good news of Jesus Christ was delivered. That is the focus of this project, finding out how people heard the Gospel. What were the challenges they faced in believing? What solved those challenges? What moved them from unbelief to belief?

I’m not interested for the sake of marketing another method. Honestly, I’m quite disheartened at the marketing madness of the Western church, which seems so hungry for the next fad in marketing the gospel. It is very discouraging for me to receive email advertisements of crafted sermon series that have been used in this or that church and “caused a 50% increase in attendance.” This project is not about finding the next wave of methodology. I agree with Scott McKnight, who said, “Conversion can’t be reduced to a formula anymore than love can be set out as an equation” (2002:77).

Certainly conversion involves methodological considerations, but this project is primarily about hearing individuals tell the story of how they actually heard the gospel and learning what we can from their experiences.

Because I like stories, and this report is actually the story of how the gospel is being effectively shared among Muslims in the West Bank, I have chosen a more personal, narrative format to report my findings.

Without shame I will use the personal pronoun “I” in telling the story of my research. The process of decision making will be detailed and personal, often elaborating on the various possible methodological choices, and how and why I made certain choices; why I did it this way and not that way, as well as stories of things that were said or done that confirmed my decisions along the way. This story will include much about the personal aspects of how I went about my research, and, when necessary, in an appropriate way that protects my respondents, I will share portions of their stories.

The researcher and the nature of the project are appropriately represented in this narrative style of presentation, which is well supported in the literature (Weiss 1994:193-210; Newman 2006:498-500; Emerson, Fretz &Shaw 1995:169-210). It also accurately reflects my research findings, which is the main thrust of the project.

Please join me as I tell the story of how the greatest story ever told is being told in the West Bank.

Sources Cited:

Emerson RM, Fretz RI and Shaw LL. (1995) Writing ethnographic fieldnotes. University Of Chicago Press.

McKnight S. (2002) Turning to Jesus: the sociology of conversion in the gospels: Westminster John Knox Press.

Neuman WL. (2006) Social research methods: quantitative and qualitative approaches. Allyn & Bacon.

Weiss RS. (1995) Learning from strangers: the art and method of qualitative interview studies. Free Press.

NEXT: Palestinian Muslims Coming to Christ, Demographic Issues

Download my dissertation as a free PDF here.

Filed Under: conversion, cross-cultural, Evangelism, Intercultural Studies, Islam, Middle East, missionaries, Muslims, Palestine, PhD, PhD excerpts, testimonies, The Gospel, West Bank

@SquareTrade Is For Real

July 13, 2014 by Leave a Comment

square-tradeBackground

Just under 3 years ago, I bought a MacBook Pro from Amazon and had to decide whether to extend my warranty coverage with AppleCare or Square Trade. I compared the prices and coverages and realized the latter simply offered more, MUCH MORE coverage for less money. But I had no idea if Square Trade was as good as they advertised themselves to be. In fact, it sounded too good to be true!

Square-Trade-coverage

I’m fairly skeptical when buying insurance or warranty extensions, believing it’s mostly a racket and, in the end, will not be all it is advertised to be. In spite of my skepticism, however, I often extend my warranties and hope for the best.

I feel compelled to protect myself because I realize I’m not the kind of Mac owner I see at the coffee shop. You know, the one whose aluminum body MacBook remains shiny and spotless. The one whose monitor doesn’t have smudges or scratches. I. Am. Not. That. Person. I have two kids (ages 10 and 3) who have been known to use my laptop as a spring board or step stool or decorate it with stickers. As rough as they are, though, I’m more rough on the unit. I don’t worship my Mac. I use it as a serious tool, and it shows: scratches, dents, smudges, stickers, missing foot pads, and metal eaten away from HOURS of resting my palms on it.

By now, you must realize something went wrong with my laptop and I am reviewing Square Trade’s warranty. If that’s the case, you are correct.

My Story

About 6 weeks ago, which was a few months before my warranty expired, I was unable to insert a dvd into my SuperDrive® and assumed the reason was a recent tumble my computer experienced. Since the earphone jack had not worked for some time, the two issues gave me the incentive to get it fixed. So, having forgotten I bought Square Trade instead of AppleCare, I went to Apple and was surprised that I didn’t have coverage, which likely would not have been covered by AppleCare anyway.

Puzzled about my lack of coverage and certain that I had purchased extended coverage I went to my Amazon account and called up my previous purchase records. There it was: Square Trade. At the moment, I had no memory of buying it or registering it, but had done both over 2 1/2 years prior. I was nervous, but made the call anyway.

A friendly customer service representative (CSR) answered and helped me sort out my account and make my claim. “What is the problem?” he asked. I explained my SuperDrive® malfunction and earphone jack problem and asked what’s the process to make a claim and get my computer fixed. He asked for me to hold while he updated my file, and when he returned he outlined my options: 1) I could send it to Square Trade and have their techs repair the unit, or 2) I could take it anywhere I wanted for repair and send a receipt for reimbursement. I initially chose option 1 and had a shipping box sent to me, and within minutes I had an email confirming the process and my decision to send it in for repair. However, my skepticism kicked in and I couldn’t bring myself to send it to Square Trade for repair. This was simply too good to be true and too easy. After the shipping box sat in my office for 2 weeks, I called to report my change of mind and ask for option 2. The CSR simply said “okay, let me change your file and give you a new confirmation number.” Within minutes, I had a second email, confirming my decision to choose a technician and be refunded.

Still skeptical, but feeling a little more confident I began to look for local technicians to do the work. I took my laptop in and the tech began work the next day. He called back to say that he didn’t think the SuperDrive® problem was due to a drop, it was something else that would only be revealed after he dug a little deeper, which required a go-ahead from me. He also said, that my earphone jack was likely a logic board problem and that my hard drive was showing signs of failure. All told, the price was upwards of $600 to fix what he thought was wrong, and more if the SuperDrive® was busted. I hoped for the best, gave the go ahead and about a week later, my laptop was fixed. It had a new logic board, new hard drive and a re-aligned SuperDrive®. Oh, the problem with the SuperDrive® was a plastic coin my son had inserted into the slot. I didn’t know he had done that, but realized the culprit immediately when the tech sheepishly said, “there was a coin in your SuperDrive®, a gray plastic coin.”

After paying for the repair, I immediately scanned and emailed my receipt to Square Trade. Within minutes, I received a note declaring payment would arrive within 7-10 business days. Now the wait. It was excruciating because I didn’t have $600 to throw at this thing if Square Trade didn’t come through. As promised, the check arrived without any hesitation for the additional cost of a hard drive, which was never mentioned in my discussion with the CSR.

Conclusion

Square Trade is for real! Their promises were too good to be true, but they were true. Their customer service reps were extremely easy to work with, and understanding of my skepticism. I still can hardly believe how well this worked, but I have the check in hand to prove it.

Thanks Square Trade for doing business the “old fashioned way” with integrity and courtesy.

Filed Under: Recommended, Reviews

Twenty-Five Years Ago Today

June 5, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Over the last few years, I have inherited a number of photo libraries from people who have either died or lost interest or ability to store their photos. These photos range from the early 1960s to the 1990’s and are from many countries around the globe.

As I’ve gone through the collections looking for things that are useable for teaching or publication, I have traveled down memory lane with the photographer and his/her subjects. It’s been fun, interesting, and in some sense  a little strange to look over the photographer’s shoulder. I’ve seen 1000’s of vacation and family event photos mostly of people I do not know. Among the various photos, I’ve seen kids graduate, receive sporting medals, swim, feed animals, laugh, cry, and sleep. I’ve seen corners of the earth that have piqued my interest, and I’ve seen certain places so many times, I deserve honorary citizenship. I’ve seen churches built and rebuilt and remodeled. I’ve seen seminary students graduate and ministers ordained and members banqueting and picnicing together. I’ve seen people fishing, displaying their catch, and napping on the beach after a long day on the water. I’ve seen royalty and wannabe royalty. I’ve seen the wealthy and the pauper. I’ve seen logos of airlines that no longer fly. Through these photos, I’ve traveled to New York City, Moscow, London, Jerusalem, South Carolina, Texas, Tel Aviv, Cairo, Washington DC, and a bunch of other places, some of which, I can’t identify.

Many of the photos I’ve surveyed have been of locations, and many of them have been useable for my purposes. The ones, though, that tug at my heart and make me think more are those of people: Where are they today? Are they still living? If so, where? What are they doing? Do they have family? Do they remember being photographed? Below is one such photo, which was taken twenty-five years ago today. It was taken (presumably) in a kindergarten in Jerusalem by a Christian tourist. I wonder where these boys are today? They should be close to 30 years old? And the teacher, did she continue to teach or did she leave the profession to raise her own family? Perhaps you know, or perhaps more likely, this information is lost to history.

Israel-Gan-19890605

Filed Under: history, Photography, Time Capsule, travel, where are they?

Apologetics, Theism, and Conversion

May 31, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Screenshot 2014-05-26 08.37.51

I recently retweeted the above quote because I believe it to be true. However, it may be misleading for some, and I want to address that issue.

Clearly, conversion should be the ultimate goal of Christian apologetics. BUT, apologetics is not a zero-sum game, which is to say: Every apologetic encounter that leads to theism and not conversion is not necessarily a failure. In fact, one of the requirements of salvific faith is theism: “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6, bold emphasis added). So, although theism should not be the intended final-destination, it can be an important initial step in the process of conversion.

Conversion is a process. And by that, I don’t mean a process of religious rituals; I mean moving from unbelief to belief. For some that process may appear instantaneous. In these cases, the person typically is raised in a Christian context (whether that be a Christian family or broader Christian culture) and has no doubts about God’s existence, or likely any doubts about the person of Christ. For them, it is a matter of believing (i.e., trusting Christ, or placing their faith in Him). You might hear these converts say something like, “I don’t remember ever not knowing about Jesus, but when I was  __ years old, I trusted him as savior.”

Encountering those types of people, though, is becoming more rare. In an increasingly secular Western world, particularly with the growth of evangelistic secularism/atheism, the general assumption that everyone believes in God is no longer a safe assumption. Thus, in many cases an apologist must first lead a lost person to an active belief in the existence of God (i.e., theism) before pressing further toward the gospel. Busenitz’s overarching point is correct, though: Apologists should not be satisfied with theism, they should aim for the gospel.

I recognize that Busenitz has a specific context in mind with his Tweet, and my clarification may not be necessary for that situation. However, the reason I think it important to offer my clarification is my own context and history. I’m attempting to help those who may live under the false guilt of not “winning [enough] converts to Jesus.” I recently observed a traveling evangelist challenge a fellow minister essentially to “put up or shut up” with the challenge to “tell us how many people you have won to the Lord this past week, month, or year.” His intent, it seemed, was to say, “If you haven’t won as many people to the Lord as I have, you are not doing real ministry.” This type of critique is mistaken for at least two reasons that are intertwined: 1) it fails to recognize that conversion is a process, and 2) it fails to recognize that any convert usually has multiple influences toward conversion.

Something that has been helpful for me in being thankful for theism, though not satisfied with it, is first to recognize that conversion is a process. Thus, my responsibility as an apologist or evangelist is to take someone as far as I can toward faith in Christ. Sometimes, that means all the way to conversion. In other cases, I may only be able to convince someone that theism is reasonable, and pray for others who can add to my witness to come along and participate. No less than the apostle Paul recognized this approach: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth” (I Corinthians 3:6).

Filed Under: apologetics, conversion, Evangelism
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