Join Zach and Michelle for an incredibly powerful and deeply moving conversation with Tebo Mpanza as he shares his radical journey from growing up in South Africa surrounded by cultural Christianity, navigating identity and faith as a teenager in England, and discovering what it truly means to keep a soft heart in a world that rewards hardness, ambition, and self-protection. This episode unpacks what it looks like to move from performance-driven ministry to restorative leadership, from proving yourself to protecting your heart, and from striving for success to trusting God's definition of what winning actually means.
Tebo opens up about his grandmother's genuine faith that shaped his trajectory, his years in church leadership and pastoral ministry, the burnout and depletion that came from running hard in his twenties, and the healing he experienced when someone finally told him he didn't have to prove himself. Discover what it means to guard your heart above all else, why keeping a soft heart is costly but essential, and how the Lord gives us a tender, responsive heart rather than a stony, stubborn one. This is a story about choosing love daily, recognising where ambition becomes an idol, and learning that your legacy and family may depend on your ability to remain soft.
BURNED OUT IN MINISTRY? LISTEN TO THIS.
00:00 Introduction and Episode Setup
01:24 Meet Tebo: Name, Heritage, and South African Roots
03:47 Growing Up with Cultural Christianity in South Africa
06:44 Moving to England at 15: Identity, Boarding School, and Distance from God
09:02 The Turning Point at 18: "I Cannot Live Like This Anymore"
11:22 Choosing Life: Deuteronomy 30 and a Fresh Start
13:08 University, Ministry, and Meeting His Wife
18:01 Leading a Church Location in Birmingham: Marriage, Ministry, and COVID
20:44 Burnout and the Cost of Performance-Driven Ministry
22:21 Restoration at Hillsong: "You Don't Have to Prove Yourself"
26:32 Moving to London and Starting a Creative Agency
29:53 Guarding Your Heart: Proverbs 4:23 and the Idol of Humility
34:38 The Cost of Carrying Anger, Ambition, and Comparison
37:38 Exodus 90: Confronting Comfort and Choosing the Hard Thing
40:08 A New Heart: Ezekiel 36:26 and God's Transformation
42:46 Why Keeping a Soft Heart Matters for Your Family and Legacy
45:12 Is Being Soft Dangerous? Winning, Losing, and Relationships
48:30 The Difference Between Being Soft and Having a Soft Heart
50:45 Closing Thoughts: You Never Arrive, You're Always Learning
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