Only One Story Worth Telling ~ with Bertie Lourens

·47 min·4 clips

A man who lived a wild life cried out to God for purity, and God sent him a missionary wife from Canada.

The episode features an interview with Bertie Lourens on the Linc Church Podcast. Bertie begins by recounting his insecure upbringing and wild lifestyle, leading to a prayer for purity and meeting his missionary wife from Canada. He then explains Waste Plan, a business that converts waste into income by extracting recyclables. Bertie describes his early ambition to get rich quick as a vacuum cleaner salesman, mentored by Raymond Ackerman, which led to Waste Plan's founding. After seven years of success, pride caused poor decisions, resulting in a court order to shut down the business. This crisis led to his first true surrender to God, followed by miraculous contract changes and debt resolution. Bertie shares a personal health scare that revealed how he was sacrificing family time for business, prompting repentance and a promise to prioritize family. He implemented Shabbat meals, where only positive affirmations are shared, transforming family dynamics. Bertie gave God 51% control of Waste Plan through Niekerk Capital, a nonprofit funding education. He details annual fasting with his executive team to seek God's direction, citing a union dispute victory as an example. The conversation shifts to Bertie's dream of addressing poverty through education, aiming to raise $100 billion to partner with the South African government. The host reflects on Bertie's story as one of surrender and God's intervention, closing with a prayer for blessing and multiplication.

As heard by us

A Christian testimony connects personal insecurity, business ownership, and educational mission.

"Only One Story Worth Telling" traces Bertie's path from a childhood marked by emotional distance to a restless hunt for approval, then into a Christian understanding of obedience in business.

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Why you'd press play

When faith starts asking about the balance sheet, you get Bertie, Waste Plan, and a consequential 51 percent.

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