Episodes

  • A Listener Q&A with Steve and Lisa Cuss

    A Listener Q&A with Steve and Lisa Cuss
    Nov 18 2024
    How can Christians know if they are managing their relationships in a healthy way? What does it look like to treat people with mental health disorders lovingly and respectfully? When should parents of young adults speak up, and when should they let their children learn on their own? These are the types of inquiries that you, listeners of Being Human, have shared with us. Listen as the Cusses answer: What are family systems theory and internal family systems theory, and how do they relate to faith? How can Christians discern between healthy, gospel-based differentiation of self and becoming detached or cynical? How can leaders operate so that those around them can air their differences without dumping all their projections onto the leader? What does it look like to navigate settings where an individual’s mental health struggle is setting the tone for a group? Since most well-meaning laypeople are not trained therapists, what is the church’s role in dealing with mental illness? What are some words of wisdom for parents whose children will soon exit their teen years and enter young adulthood? Resources mentioned in this episode include: Bowen family systems theory Internal family systems theory A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix by Edwin H. Friedman Borderline personality disorder (BPD) “Introducing ‘Being Human with Steve Cuss’” Managing Leadership Anxiety: Yours and Theirs by Steve Cuss The Expectation Gap: The Tiny, Vast Space between Our Beliefs & Experience of God by Steve Cuss Capable Life Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    35 mins
  • A Central Park Slow Down with Steve

    A Central Park Slow Down with Steve
    Nov 11 2024
    Being fully seen and fully known can feel, in a word, terrifying. And yet, that’s exactly what our souls crave—and exactly what God designed for us to experience. From the Sheep Meadow of New York City’s Central Park, Steve Cuss explores the idea of being entirely ourselves. He considers the two protective extremes that often keep people from being fully human: pretense and pretending. Cuss walks through 1 John 3:19–20, which describes being vulnerable in the presence of a God who is greater than our hearts that condemn us. He looks at Jesus as the preeminent example of being exactly ourselves, shares stories from his time as a chaplain, and offers practical steps for remaining loving and curious in relationships. Resources mentioned in this episode include: The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God by Timothy Keller with Kathy Keller Capable Life Intensives Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    31 mins
  • Walking the Camino de Santiago with Barrett Harkins

    Walking the Camino de Santiago with Barrett Harkins
    Nov 4 2024
    Five years ago, Barrett Harkins walked Spain’s Camino de Santiago—an ancient Christian pilgrimage walked by over 500,000 people each year—for a friend’s birthday. Somewhere along the path, he called his wife and asked what she thought about moving there. Now a missionary in Santiago, where he works with pilgrims on the path and at a hostel, Harkins and Steve Cuss walk the path together. They talk about the power of slowing down and the profound conversations that take place as people journey with one another. They explore what God does in temporary spaces, what it looks like to let go of what we no longer need, and why it is important to create a reflective mind. Harkins discusses the history of the Camino, the reasons people walk the path, and the way many pilgrims—including Harkins—have found it to be a place where God meets them in their anxiety and offers transformation. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guests include: Camino de Santiago “The Power of Pilgrimage with Brian and Peri Zahnd” Three Mile an Hour God by Kosuke Koyama John Mark Comer The Enneagram Striking Out: Poems and Stories from the Camino by Stephen Cottrell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    40 mins
  • ‘Healing What’s Within’ with Chuck DeGroat

    ‘Healing What’s Within’ with Chuck DeGroat
    Oct 28 2024
    Chuck DeGroat’s name has become somewhat synonymous with work on narcissism in the church. But as he and Steve Cuss discuss, DeGroat is devoted to shining a light on wholeheartedness and internal integration. DeGroat and Cuss talk about anxiety—specifically around dying—and the way that age often brings with it a concern for one’s legacy. They talk about experiencing pain through work in church settings, noticing emotions that arise in ourselves and others, and coming home to God and ourselves—all while considering the impact of secondary trauma on people in pastoral and helping professions, ways to distinguish between shutdown and rest, and our response to the invitation of God. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guests include: Chuck DeGroat Healing What’s Within: Coming Home to Yourself—and to God—When You’re Wounded, Weary, and Wandering by Chuck DeGroat Wholeheartedness: Busyness, Exhaustion, and Healing the Divided Self by Chuck DeGroat When Narcissism Comes to Church: Healing Your Community From Emotional and Spiritual Abuse by Chuck DeGroat “Narcissism In The Chair” Internal Family Systems model The Expectation Gap: The Tiny, Vast Space between Our Beliefs and Experience of God by Steve Cuss Managing Leadership Anxiety: Yours and Theirs by Steve Cuss “Always Beginners” by Thomas Merton Experimental Theology with Richard Beck The Enneagram Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me: A Memoir … of Sorts by Ian Morgan Cron Click here to ask Steve a question. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    44 mins
  • Hope in Unexpected Transitions with Brandi Wilson and Lori Wilhite

    Hope in Unexpected Transitions with Brandi Wilson and Lori Wilhite
    Oct 21 2024
    Brandi Wilson was happily raising her three sons with her pastor husband—that is, until he decided to leave their marriage, their family, and the church they had invested in for years. Close friends and leadership coaches Brandi Wilson and Lori Wilhite share how they weathered Wilson’s devastating loss together. They talk about the particular struggles of being a pastor’s wife and the heartbreak of feeling like someone else is controlling your life circumstances. They discuss managing anxiety, bearing one another’s burdens, and healing even when restoration does not occur. They also share about the community they run together—Leading and Loving It—and why, despite all the hard things, they still love the church. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guests include: Brandi Wilson Lori Wilhite Leading and Loving It Friedman’s Fables by Ed Friedman The Enneagram Philippians: Chasing Happy by Lori Wilhite Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    43 mins
  • Trauma, Tenacity, and Trusting God with Beth Moore

    Trauma, Tenacity, and Trusting God with Beth Moore
    Oct 14 2024
    Beth Moore is sure of one thing: In God, nothing is wasted. On this episode, Cuss and Moore talk about the trauma and trials she has faced, including her experience of being abused as a child, leaving the Southern Baptist Convention after devoting much of her life to it, and walking alongside her husband, Keith, as he navigates bipolar disorder. They discuss how Moore decided to share more of their story in her memoir and the ways God has ministered to people through that vulnerability. Tune in for an episode that speaks to God’s faithfulness in trauma, how Moore remains playful in the face of hardship, and what her recent back surgery taught her about how deeply God loves his children. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: All My Knotted-Up Life: A Memoir by Beth Moore Living Proof Ministries Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story by Bono Click here for a trial subscription at Christianity Today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    45 mins
  • The Four Spaces of Anxiety with Lisa Cuss

    The Four Spaces of Anxiety with Lisa Cuss
    Oct 7 2024
    Have you ever walked into a room and immediately sensed anxiety between two people? Or maybe you’ve entered into a challenging conversation and have barely been able to hear it over the thunder of your heartbeat. Perhaps you’ve received a “we need to talk” text and felt your stomach drop with dread. These types of experiences—and reactions to them—are common, yet we often lack the tools to name or address them. On this episode of Being Human, Steve and Lisa Cuss introduce a tool called the Four Spaces that is designed to help us do just that. They explain the four spaces where anxiety shows up and offer wisdom and insight for engaging with each of them. Their conversation covers taking responsibility for our emotions, releasing our desire to control others, and relaxing in God’s presence. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: The Four Spaces 24-7 Prayer Tools Click here for a trial subscription at Christianity Today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    42 mins
  • A Merciful Response to Doubt with Lisa Fields

    A Merciful Response to Doubt with Lisa Fields
    Sep 30 2024
    Why would a loving God send people to hell? When you hear the word apologetics, that’s likely the type of question that comes to mind. But Lisa Fields, one of the world’s most sought-after Christian apologists and the author of When Faith Disappoints, says there are often much more personal inquiries beneath those intellectual inquiries. In this episode, Fields and Cuss talk about pastors’ kids, pain points, and perfect love. They discuss the importance of listening when it comes to challenging faith conversations and consider the ways that the church can become a place of refuge. Fields shares how the Jude 3 Project, which she founded, is helping the Black Christian community know what they believe and why. This episode covers trauma, chronic anxiety, and the healing that is only found in Jesus. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: When Faith Disappoints: The Gap Between What We Believe and What We Experience by Lisa Fields Jude 3 Project Unspoken Juneteenth: Faith & Freedom Why I Don’t Go Leo Percer Tertullian Athanasius Click here to help new listeners find Being Human by leaving a review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    41 mins