Mike Congrove

S. Sudan & Sudan guy // // Post random things I like

[Mike Congrove @mikecongrove]

I did a thing. I tried to tell what happens with Empower One on the ground. The subtitle is intentional: "Flawed guy." I put failures, warts, and mistakes in there, so it's a good way to feel better about yourself. And, I hope it may encourage someone to take a step of faith. Feels surreal, but here's both David Kaya David Daniel's, my story, and Empower One's. https://t.co/oSaK33zqvz So many of you helped make this story possible. So, big thank you.

[DallasAWillard @DallasAWillard]

The message Jesus taught, and the sole message of the New Testament, is the availability and nature of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of the heavens is now accessible to all people alike.

The Scandal of the Kingdom: How the Parables of Jesus Revolutionize Life with God (p. 9).

[Peter J. Williams @DrPJWilliams]

I was in the @britishmuseum today looking at an object from *Sudan* which is archaeological evidence for a king mentioned in the Bible.

This is a monument of Cushite king Tirhakah mentioned in 2 Kings 19:9 and Isaiah 37:9. Name is in the cartouche on the side.

(EA1779)

[PMT Stats @PmtStats]

Imagine drafting both of them in the same draft

Deciding you want neither of them

Only getting one 1st rounder, 29 games of Anthony Davis, and Max Christie in return

[60 Minutes @60Minutes]

Rising track star Gout Gout is drawing comparisons to Usain Bolt, the Jamaican eight-time gold medallist, considered the sport’s greatest-ever. Bolt recently said of Gout, “He looks like young me.” https://t.co/8UbCLkjjr9

[Mike Congrove @mikecongrove]

A healthy local church solves tons of problems.

[Clint Teeples @TeeplesCY]

"If I told you there was one free thing you could do every Sunday that would make your kids happier, healthier, smarter, and closer to you, you'd think I was selling something."

Take your kids to church regularly. I don't care if you believe. The data is so lopsided that skipping it is the parenting equivalent of refusing vegetables because you don't like the taste.

Grades. Religious teens get As at almost twice the rate of nonreligious teens. In a class of 100, that's 24 A-students instead of 14. Church gives a kid the same academic boost as being born rich instead of poor.

College. Working-class religious kids earn bachelor's degrees at double the rate of their nonreligious peers. Middle-class kids do it at 1.5x the rate. For families without a trust fund, this is one of the most powerful forms of upward mobility social scientists have measured.

Character. Religious teens are far less likely to lie, cheat, or do things they hope their parents never find out about. They're more likely to care about racial equality, the elderly, and the poor. They reject the idea that morality is whatever works for you in the moment. That kind of kid doesn't happen by accident. It's built.

Closeness. 60% of parents of religious teens say they feel "extremely close" to their kid, compared to 50% of nonreligious parents. The kids report the same thing back. They get along better with their parents, talk about hard stuff, and actually want to spend time with their family.

Despair. Religious teens are dramatically less likely to be depressed, anxious, lonely, or feel that life is meaningless. 90% of devoted religious teens never binge drink, compared to 41% of the disengaged. Economists named the modern epidemic "deaths of despair." Regular church attendance is one of the strongest known buffers against it. Parents are spending fortunes trying to solve teen mental health. The most evidence-backed intervention is free.

Purpose. Religious young adults report higher purpose, gratitude, life satisfaction, and resilience. These are the exact traits every parent says they want their kid to have.

Here's why it works. Affluent families already surround their kids with networks of stable, accomplished adults through neighborhoods, schools, and parents' colleagues. Working and middle-class families usually don't. A congregation is often the last institution in American life that puts your kid in weekly contact with dozens of stable, employed, sober adults who know their name. It used to be called "a village." Now it barely exists outside of churches.

"But I don't believe." Your kid doesn't need your theology. They need you to show up.

"But church is boring." So is sitting through a kindergarten music recital. Parenting is the deliberate choice to be bored on purpose for someone you love.

There's a church within 15 minutes of nearly every American home. You don't need money, connections, or credentials to walk in. Nothing else in this country will surround your kid with engaged adults, teach them moral seriousness, and give them a stable weekly rhythm at zero cost.

You already drive them to practices that produce far less. The free thing on Sunday produces more, on more dimensions, than almost anything else you do as a parent.

You don't have to believe anything. You just have to take them.

[Mike Congrove @mikecongrove]

@junior_miller @dfwticket Forgot the best one

[Gerry DeFilippo @Challenger_ST]

🚨 What if the secret to success isn’t talent or luck… but one simple daily choice?

Nick Saban drops truth: Every single day, you face the same 2 questions:

1. Something you KNOW you should do… but don’t FEEL like doing?

Can you make yourself do it anyway?

2. Something you know you shouldn’t do… but really WANT to?

Can you stop yourself?

Getting out of bed when the alarm hits

Hitting the gym when you’d rather scroll

Studying or grinding when Netflix calls

Choosing the hard right over the easy wrong

This is the invisible bridge between where you are… and who you want to become

Put your choices ahead of your feelings

Because if you only do what you feel like doing, you’ll never reach your goals

This one mindset shift changes everything for champions — and it can change everything for YOU too.

[Breanna Morello @BreannaMorello]

When confronted with the intimate reality of my own mortality, I hope to face it with the same profound, godly grace that Former U.S. Senator Ben Sasse has displayed.

[Wes Huff @WesleyLHuff]

It’s Easter Week. The most important week in history!

Don’t let people bog you down with a-historical silliness in the midst of focusing on what it’s all about.

See the graphic here https://t.co/kUCxVXZrYa

[Brad Brisco @bradleybrisco]

I have been thinking lately about Mark Noll's book, "The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind" (published over 30 years ago) where he critiques the intellectual shallowness of evangelicalism, arguing that it has neglected serious philosophical engagement with theology, history, and culture. I wonder if this same critique can be applied to the gospel message itself, where evangelicals have often reduced the good news to a message ABOUT Jesus (his death, resurrection, and personal salvation) rather than embracing the gospel OF Jesus, which was the arrival of the Kingdom of God.

We could call it “The Scandal of the Evangelical Gospel.”

Too often, we have distilled the gospel into a transactional message focused almost exclusively on the afterlife, heaven or hell. The dominant evangelical presentation of the gospel frequently sounds like this:

You are a sinner; Jesus died for your sins; Accept him as your personal Savior; Go to heaven when you die.

While this contains truth, it falls short of Jesus' gospel message. In contrast, His good news was about the in-breaking of God's reign on earth, a new reality that reorders everything. When Jesus proclaimed the gospel, his message was: "The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news" (Mark 1:15). Jesus' message was not, "Believe in me so you can go to heaven when you die." It was a radical announcement that God's rule was now breaking into human history through him, healing, restoring, and upending the world’s power structures. In this Kingdom:

* The poor are lifted up, and the proud are humbled (Luke 1:52-53).

* Sinners are forgiven, but the self-righteous are exposed (Luke 18:9-14).

* Healing, justice, and new creation begin now, not just in the afterlife (Matthew 11:5).

* Power is redefined, leadership means servanthood (Mark 10:42-45).

* The cross and resurrection do not merely secure individual salvation; they inaugurate God’s new world (Colossians 1:13-20).

Yet, much of modern evangelicalism has reduced this kingdom announcement into a gospel about personal salvation, missing the overarching scope of Jesus’ mission.

If the scandal of the evangelical mind was a failure to engage seriously with intellectual life, then the scandal of the evangelical gospel is our failure to proclaim and embody Jesus’ Kingdom vision.

We must recover the gospel Jesus preached by:

* Proclaiming a Gospel Beyond Afterlife Assurance. The good news is not just about where we go when we die, but how we live under Jesus’ reign here and now (Luke 4:18-19).

* Reintegrating Justice, Mercy, and Peacemaking. The Kingdom is about restoring all things (Colossians 1:19-20), not just individual forgiveness.

* Calling People to Follow a King, Not Just Accept a Sacrifice. Salvation is not just about avoiding hell, but about becoming citizens of a new reality where Jesus is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11).

* Recovering the Church's Role as a Kingdom Community. The church is not just a collection of saved individuals, but an outpost of the coming Kingdom, living as a preview of God’s new world. (Newbigin's sign, foretaste and instrument of the Kingdom)

If evangelicalism is to regain its credibility, it must expand its gospel beyond individual salvation. The gospel of the Kingdom is far more compelling, transformative, and biblical than the shrunk-down gospel of "pray this prayer and get to heaven." Jesus didn't just die to forgive our sins, he died and rose to bring a new world into existence, one where God reigns, justice prevails, and love restores all things.

[Mike Congrove @mikecongrove]

@BethMooreLPM Someone with a lot of talent should make it into a movie. The end would be incredible.

[Mike Congrove @mikecongrove]

@Riffraff3232 Negative. Bob is a stand up guy. I appreciate his heart. You won’t agree with everyone’s opinion, but Bob is a good dude.

[Mike Congrove @mikecongrove]

@exjon @EWErickson There's a three-year war in Sudan with two likely genocides.

[Liam Karr @liam_karr]

This excellent Economist article confirms what we at CTP assessed a couple of weeks ago, that the Emirati escalation in Yemen may have been a response to Saudi Arabia increasing diplomatic pressure on the UAE on Sudan.

We also assessed that Yemen could cause another rebound in Africa. Regardless of whether the Saudi strikes cause the UAE to back down in Yemen, the interconnected Gulf/broader middle power tensions on the Horn side of the Red Sea are only increasing.

1. All signs point to all sides in Sudan gearing up for renewed fighting.
- Growing reports of the UAE setting up another cross-border staging area for the RSF in Ethiopia, including Emirati weapons shipments (map attached)
- Burhan has been meeting with all his foreign backers [Egypt/Turkey/Saudi] to rally support for the SAF for the upcoming battle for central Sudan.

2. Israeli recognition of Somliland has drawn another line in the sand for African countries and their partners to take a side on.
- The UAE and Ethiopia have not condemned the recognition
- The recognition has been another rallying point for African powers trying to contain Ethiopia [Egypt/Djibouti/Eritrea/Somalia] + their middle power partners competing with Emirati influence [Turkey/Saudi].
- Houthis are also noting that any Israeli positions in Somaliland would be legitimate military targets.

[Mike Congrove @mikecongrove]

@Chris_arnade Very true.

[Mike Congrove @mikecongrove]

Not up to speed on WR, but it’s why I advocate strongly folks should fund groups like ours: @Empower_1 There are many more of “us” unapologetically attempting to convert these folks to Christ in their own countries. Extremely little funding goes towards our groups, and we’re at the root cause level.

[Nick Solheim @NickSolheim]

One of the biggest stories of the year.

Christian NGO’s have been co-opted to bring in people and cultures who hate us.

These organizations need to be investigated and, if necessary, shut down.

[Mike Congrove @mikecongrove]

@Bezner Facts.

[Akech Andrew @akech_andrew]

Big media houses will never show you this side of South 🇸🇸 Sudan but they will write about everything else that's negative.

We are now at 6.3 million animals. Boma National Park alone accounts 2 million.

[Mike Congrove @mikecongrove]

Baliet is the home of our Upper Nile
Leader. Horrible. May all the cows die.

[Eye Radio @EyeRadioJuba]

The death toll from Friday’s brutal raid in Baliet County, Upper Nile State, has risen to 66, including two local chiefs, with 65 others wounded, local officials say. Earlier reports had put the fatalities at 57. #ssox https://t.co/JLZ4HtmqB7

[Rana Abtar - رنا أبتر @Ranaabtar]

🚨🚨روبيو عن #السودان : المشكلة الجوهرية التي نواجهها هي أنّ قوات الدعم السريع توافق على الأمور، لكنها لا تلتزم بها أبداً ولا تستطيع تنفيذها. وبالتالي، نجد أنفسنا اليوم أمام كارثة حقيقية..
لا بدّ من اتخاذ خطوات لوقف تدفّق الأسلحة والدعم الذي تتلقّاه قوات الدعم السريع، فيما تواصل تقدّمها على الأرض- التصريحات كاملة 👇🏻(تابع)