Being Human with Steve Cuss

Latest Episodes:

What You Think You Need That You Don’t Really Need Aug 18, 2024

Show notes

There are different kinds of anxiety, but there is one type of anxiety that always feels real in the moment when it is not. Unlike acute anxiety which is always based on a real threat, like when you have to swerve to avoid a car, chronic anxiety is always based on a false threat. Like making everyone happy, or doing it perfectly every time or always needing to be there for others.

In this episode Steve and Lisa dig into what do you think you need that you don’t really need? And they also help you identify the big 5 sources of false anxiety.

Steve’s latest book explores the gap between our belief and our experience.

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Your Conscious List Of Relationships Jul 07, 2024

Show notes

Are you on your own conscious list of relationships?

If not, this episode is for you. Host Steve Cuss is joined by his wife, Lisa, to chat about putting yourself on your conscious list of relationships, responding to your inner critic, and three simple ways to diffuse anxiety in any situation. Steve and Lisa discuss the Enneagram, opportunities for individual and collective growth, and how connecting with God can improve our sense of self.

This episode offers tangible practices for those who want to improve all types of relationships. These tools and more are featured in Steve’s latest book The Expectation Gap.

Visit Stevecusswords.com to access free courses that go along with this episode.

Being Human willbe on hiatus until August 18th. In the meantime, would you consider leaving a written review of Being Human or sharing this episode with someone you think might benefit? We really appreciate your support!

Resources mentioned in this episode include:

“Being Human with Steve Cuss” is a production of Christianity Today

Executive Produced by Erik Petrik and Mike Cosper

Produced and Edited by Matt Stevens

Associate Producers: McKenzie Hill, Raed Gilliam, and Abby Perry

Theme song by Dan Phelps

Original Music by Andy Gullahorn

Mix Engineer: Kevin Morris

Graphic Design: Amy Jones

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Love The One You're With featuring Luke Norsworthy Jun 30, 2024

Show notes

Love isn’t meant to be conditional, especially when it comes to our understanding of how God loves us. But this episode’s guest—pastor, author, and podcaster Luke Norsworthy—says we’re far too normalized to the idea that love is contingent upon how we practice our faith, obey, and function in general.

On this episode, Norsworthy and Cuss talk about whether or not the phrase “unconditional love” is redundant. They consider how family language can be misused and what it might look like to become more integrated in our lives. They talk about the parable of the prodigal son, what it is to be acquainted with grief as a believer, and how to process disappointment. Their conversation also covers celebrity pastors, loneliness, and the value of vulnerability.

The Expectation Gapby Steve Cuss is now available—order here!

Resources mentioned in this episode include:

Luke Norsworthy
Norsworthy
How to Love the Life You Already Have: A Guide to Becoming the Person Life is Demanding You Be by Luke Norsworthy
Craft and Character with Luke Norsworthy
Herbert McCabe
The Prayers of the People
Pepperdine University
Grieve, Breathe, Receive: Finding a Faith Strong Enough to Hold Us by Steve Carter
Curt Thompson

“Being Human with Steve Cuss” is a production of Christianity Today

Executive Produced by Erik Petrik and Mike Cosper

Produced and Edited by Matt Stevens

Associate Producers: McKenzie Hill, Raed Gilliam, and Abby Perry

Theme song by Dan Phelps

Original Music by Andy Gullahorn

Mix Engineer: Kevin Morris

Graphic Design: Amy Jones

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Community, Honor and Shame, and Self Definition with Grace Liu and Cory Elisabeth Jun 23, 2024

Show notes

How can people connect with others without merging into them or letting them take over? How can we differentiate ourselves from one another while remaining connected in meaningful ways?

These are some of the questions that Being Human host Steve Cuss poses to his guests, Grace Liu and Cory Elisabeth. The founders of Pursue Inner Growth, a coaching and counseling service in Indonesia, Liu and Elisabeth share rich and nuanced thoughts on how culture, place, and heritage shape who we are.

Cuss speaks with Liu and Elisabeth about the unique challenges Southeast Asians face, the difference between an individualistic culture and a communal one, and how people can deal with both individual and communal shame. Their conversation covers some of the variances in Western and Asian psychology, such as what the idea of setting boundaries looks like in different cultures. Liu and Elisabeth walk through case studies of difficult interpersonal situations, discuss the implications of honor-shame culture, and share what they, as Indonesian women, wish that Cuss knew as a white man.

The Expectation Gapby Steve Cuss is now available—order here!

“Being Human with Steve Cuss” is a production of Christianity Today

Executive Produced by Erik Petrik and Mike Cosper

Produced and Edited by Matt Stevens

Associate Producers: McKenzie Hill, Raed Gilliam, and Abby Perry

Theme song by Dan Phelps

Original Music by Andy Gullahorn

Mix Engineer: Kevin Morris

Graphic Design: Amy Jones

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

'Jesus Of The East' with Phuc Luu Jun 16, 2024

Show notes

Artist. Theologian. Immigrant.

These are the three words that come to mind for host Steve Cuss when he thinks of his guest, Phuc (Phu) Luu. On this episode, Luu responds to each of those terms, sharing how they make up who he is.

Cuss and Luu discuss what it means to take refuge and the meaning to be found in the fact that Jesus himself had to take sanctuary. They talk about art as a way to depict one's inner world and what motivates Luu to paint. Luu also reacts to the image of King Charles’ new portrait in real-time on the episode (which was recorded before the vandalization of the portrait by activists).

They also discuss Luu’s book Jesus of the East and its themes, including broken harmony, the restoration of Shalom, and the Korean term “han,” which means a sense of woundedness that is so deep there is no English equivalent. Luu also vulnerably shares what it’s like to be the only Vietnamese or minority culture person in the room.

Tune in for an episode that tenderly and powerfully considers ethnicity, belonging, and the Jesus who understands everything about who we are.

The Expectation Gapby Steve Cuss is now available—order here!

Resources mentioned in this episode include:

“Being Human with Steve Cuss” is a production of Christianity Today

Executive Produced by Erik Petrik and Mike Cosper

Produced and Edited by Matt Stevens

Associate Producers: McKenzie Hill, Raed Gilliam, and Abby Perry

Theme song by Dan Phelps

Original Music by Andy Gullahorn

Mix Engineer: Kevin Morris

Graphic Design: Amy Jones

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

My Whole Black Self With Marvin Williams Jun 09, 2024

Show notes

How many minutes per week do you think you can be exactly yourself?

That’s the question that host Steve Cuss poses at the beginning of this episode, and it takes on specific meaning as he converses with his guest, Marvin Williams. Williams is the lead pastor of Trinity Church in Lansing, Michigan, and is currently earning his doctorate in systems theory, particularly as it pertains to the African-American experience. His forthcoming dissertation, My Whole Black Self, considers what it’s like to be exactly yourself and what happens when people cannot be exactly themselves.

Cuss and Williams discuss what drew Williams to systems theory, how leadership starts with personal transformation, and what it looks like to live in one’s identity fully. They talk about bullying, anxiety, and the Black writers, thinkers, and experts who have influenced Williams’ perspective. The two discuss connectedness, what it’s like to be in majority culture spaces, and how calmness is not always the opposite of anxiety. Their discussion also explores violence against Black Americans, the nuances of pastoring, and the role of politics in the life of the church.

The Expectation Gapby Steve Cuss is now available—order here!

Resources mentioned in this episode include:

Marvin Williams
A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix by Edwin H. Friedman
Murray Bowen
Bowen family systems theory
Trisha Taylor
“To Belong to One Another: Remaining Calm and Curious in Times of High Anxiety” with Rich Villodas
The Souls of Black Folk from W.E.B. Du Bois
Psychological Storms: The African American Struggle for Identity by Thomas Parham
Charlie Dates
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

“Being Human with Steve Cuss” is a production of Christianity Today

Executive Produced by Erik Petrik and Mike Cosper

Produced and Edited by Matt Stevens

Associate Producers: McKenzie Hill, Raed Gilliam, and Abby Perry

Theme song by Dan Phelps

Original Music by Andy Gullahorn

Mix Engineer: Kevin Morris

Graphic Design: Amy Jones

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Men, Women, Power, and Health with Kadi Cole Jun 02, 2024

Show notes

Gender dynamics in the workplace.

What to do when you’re the only one of your kind in the room.

The power dynamics and damage of the #MeToo and #ChurchToo scandals.

These are some of the heavy topics that Steve Cuss and his guest, leadership development expert Kadi Cole, consider on this episode of Being Human. Their conversation draws upon Cole’s years spent developing women leaders and working with diverse teams as one of the world’s foremost leaders in helping organizations navigate healthy gender dynamics.

Cuss and Cole talk about the ways people camouflage themselves to fit into a group, how men and women handle inner confidence differently, and what it looks like to be ourselves in Christ. Their discussion covers how leaders can cultivate safe environments that allow people to show up as they are, the effects of powerful leaders with unaddressed childhood wounds, and how Cole’s background as a nurse prepared her to engage executive leadership with a holistic perspective.

They also talk about Momentum Marketplace, Cole’s new initiative to help young, kingdom-minded leaders be mentored in the marketplace.

The Expectation Gap by Steve Cuss is now available!

Resources mentioned in this episode include:

“Being Human with Steve Cuss” is a production of Christianity Today

Executive Produced by Erik Petrik and Mike Cosper

Produced and Edited by Matt Stevens

Associate Producers: McKenzie Hill, Raed Gilliam, and Abby Perry

Theme song by Dan Phelps

Original Music by Andy Gullahorn

Mix Engineer: Kevin Morris

Graphic Design: Amy Jones

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is the Gospel Preventative or Redemptive? May 26, 2024

Show notes

Is the gospel primarily preventative or redemptive? What did Jesus emphasize between the two?

In this episode of Being Human, Steve is joined by his wife, the Friendly Neighborhood Therapist, Lisa, to consider these questions. They talk about faith gaps, how human development affects the ways we approach faith, and comparing ourselves to the pillars of the faith.

Cuss also reads from his upcoming book, The Expectation Gap, which releases onMay 28th. Listeners can preorder here. Get your preorder bonuses here!

Resources mentioned in this episode include:

The Gap
“Grieve, Breathe, Receive” with Steve Carter
Camino De Santiago
John F. Kennedy, Jr. playing under the Resolute Desk
The Crown
Get Out of My Life, but First Could You Drive Me & Cheryl to the Mall: A Parent's Guide to the New Teenager by Anthony E. Wolf
Aurora Leigh by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
The Expectation Gap: The Tiny, Vast Space between Our Beliefs and Experience of God by Steve Cuss
Preorder bonuses for The Expectation Gap

“Being Human with Steve Cuss” is a production of Christianity Today

Executive Produced by Erik Petrik and Mike Cosper

Produced and Edited by Matt Stevens

Associate Producers: McKenzie Hill, Raed Gilliam, and Abby Perry

Theme song by Dan Phelps

Original Music by Andy Gullahorn

Mix Engineer: Kevin Morris

Graphic Design: Amy Jones

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Expectation Gap May 19, 2024

Show notes

Steve Cuss has a special burden for pastors and church staff. As someone who spent 27 years in such roles, he knows the unique challenges personally. On this episode, Cuss shares some of his own journey, including how he struggled with conflating his identities as a child of God and what felt like being an employee of God.

Cuss talks about the gap between what we believe about God and what we experience from God. He guides listeners through the story of Peter walking on water (Matt. 14). Cuss discusses peace, freedom, and love, inviting us to help our body align with our head beliefs so we can relax into God’s presence.

Cuss also reads from his upcoming book, The Expectation Gap, releasing May 28, which listeners can preorder here. Preorder bonuses are available here.

Resources mentioned in this episode include:

Managing Leadership Anxiety: Yours and Theirs by Steve Cuss
“From a Distance”
Matthew 14
The Expectation Gap: The Tiny, Vast Space between Our Beliefs and Experience of God by Steve Cuss
Preorder bonuses for The Expectation Gap

“Being Human with Steve Cuss” is a production of Christianity Today

Executive Produced by Erik Petrik and Mike Cosper

Produced and Edited by Matt Stevens

Associate Producers: McKenzie Hill, Raed Gilliam, and Abby Perry

Theme song by Dan Phelps

Original Music by Andy Gullahorn

Mix Engineer: Kevin Morris

Graphic Design: Amy Jones

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Grieve, Breathe, Receive with Steve Carter May 12, 2024

Show notes

“Did you have integrity today?”

That’s the question that Steve Carter, author, podcaster, and former lead teaching pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, pictured his son asking him when allegations of sexual harassment against Bill Hybels emerged. Carter realized he couldn’t go “play church.” He had to take the allegations seriously and act with integrity, which, for him, looked like resigning.

On this episode of Being Human, Cuss and Carter discuss what it looks like to have integrity when mentors and institutions fail us. They talk about the heartbreak of losing beloved communities, navigating relationships when people feel betrayed, and how difficult it is to see broken systems when inside them.

Carter shares how he has dealt with the weight of being misunderstood, the way some of his highest values were wielded against him, and what it was like to deal with public loss and accusation as an Enneagram Three. He and Cuss talk about the power of the resurrection and the two Greek words that became an anchor for Carter. And they discuss what propelled Carter to write Grieve, Breathe, Receive—a stunning memoir on grief and healing that recounts Carter leaving Willow Creek Church, entering a wilderness season, and enduring loss upon loss upon loss, from income and reputation to precious family members and more.

Resources mentioned in this episode include: