Being Human with Steve Cuss

Latest Episodes:

Empathy and Remembering with Esau McCaulley Mar 10, 2024

Show notes

Presence has a profound impact on our lives. So does its opposite—absence.

On this episode of Being Human, Steve Cross welcomes author, professor, and public theologian Esau McCaulley. McCaulley’s book Reading While Black is dedicated to his father, which may lead people to believe that they had a close relationship. But, McCaulley says that dedication was his way of declaring, “I forgive you.”

During their conversation, Cross and McCaulley talk about how the absence of paternal love can shape a child. They discuss how McCaulley’s childhood affects his parenting, the role of humor in processing trauma, and the power of memory. They talk about racism, shame, and the roots of dehumanization. And they consider the presence of God’s love and redemption.

Resources mentioned in this episode include:

Esau McCaulley
Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hopeby Esau McCaulley
How Far to the Promised Land: One Black Family's Story of Hope and Survival in the American South by Esau McCaulley
The New Testament in Color: A Multiethnic Bible Commentary by Esau McCaulley
Horatio Alger
Marvin Williams
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism by Timothy Keller
Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense by N.T. Wright
The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton

“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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Enneagram, Anxiety, and What We Live For Mar 03, 2024

Show notes

Today on Being Human, it’s all about the Enneagram.

Steve Cuss welcomes back his friend and colleague Jimmy Carnes for a discussion about the nine types and how they reflect the character of God. Carnes explains the holy idea of each Enneagram type—also known as the nine faces of God—and the ways that we are all striving for one aspect of God to be true.

Carnes and Cuss discuss the nuances of their types and others. They consider how the Enneagram system can help people identify where they lose connection with God, themselves, and others. And they discuss navigating grief and anxiety as complex humans who are loved by God.

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

Triangulation and Over Functioning Feb 25, 2024

Show notes

Start paying attention.

Those three words sound simple enough. And yet, just about everyone who has tried to focus on understanding what’s going on inside themselves knows that the process can get tricky pretty fast. Introspection can be as infuriating as it is illuminating.

On this episode of Being Human, host Steve Cuss welcomes his dear friend and co-laborer at Capable Life Jimmy Carnes to talk about paying attention. Their conversation covers dehumanization, inner critics, and anxiety. Carnes explains what triangulation is and how Christians can notice and respond to it. He shares some of his own sources of anxiety, how he’s working on addressing them, and how building Lego has become a life-giving habit for him.

Tune in for an episode that is full of tips for growing more connected to God, yourself, and others. And be sure to come back next week as Carnes and Cuss’ describe how the Enneagram, reactivity, and anxiety all fit together, and how the Enneagram can help us connect to God.

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

The Journey Into Emotional Health Feb 18, 2024

Show notes

“The reality of trauma is that it’s a perceived experience where we feel like the tools that we have, to cope with what we have experienced, have been exhausted … so those experiences and meaning made get stuck in our bodies.”

So says Lisa Cuss, therapist and wife of Steve Cuss, on this episode of Being Human. Lisa and Steve talk about the ways trauma lodges inside of us, bodily techniques for processing difficult experiences, and what it means to understand God as the ultimate healer. They dig deeper into systems theory, discuss how theology and psychology can integrate, and share stories from their early marriage.

Lisa explains the dangers of spiritualizing our experiences and what it may look like to invite God into them instead. They talk about times in their lives when they experienced deep grief and how they learned to accept care and compassion rather than only being the ones to share it with others.

Tune in for a conversation that gets right to the heart of the matter of what it is to be—and to feel—human.

Resources mentioned in this episode include:

Bowen family systems theory
EMDR
“It Is Well With My Soul” by Horatio G. Spafford

“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 Nature of Every Belief Feb 11, 2024

Show notes

Most Christians would probably say that relaxing in the presence of God sounds like a beautiful idea. But do we know how to do that? And do we understand what gets in our way?

On this episode of Being Human, Steve Cuss helps listeners identify the reactivity in their lives that keeps them from experiencing connection with God, themselves, and others. He walks through a brief history of systems theory, noting the key figures who have built a body of work exploring how relational dynamics affect us. He explains the ways that ego drives decision-making, how to recognize and respond to stuck patterns, and what it looks like to “get off the treadmill” of expending energy and effort on trying harder.

Cuss shares stories from Scripture, history, and his own life that shed light on how to look at the nature of our beliefs. And he digs down to the surprising roots of the word “gospel,” illuminating the ways that only Christianity has a God who sacrifices that humanity might benefit.

Resources mentioned in this episode include:

Bowen Family Systems Theory
Edwin H. Friedman
Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and Synagogue by Edwin H. Friedman
Managing Leadership Anxiety: Yours and Theirs by Steve Cuss
Gregory Bateson
Margaret Mead
Mental Research Institute
The False Self
Pax: War and Peace in Rome’s Golden Age by Tom Holland
Virgil
Timothy Keller
Faith Within Reason by Herbert McCabe

“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

Precious vs. Core Beliefs Feb 04, 2024

Show notes

What happens when we’re reactive? We disconnect from our awareness of God.

So says Steve Cuss on this episode of Being Human. With concrete advice and a tone of encouragement, Cuss illuminates the path for listeners who want to name what causes their reactivity so they can stay connected to themselves, God, and others.

Cuss explores how Jesus paves a way for us to connect to our so-called enemies. He directs listeners into prayer and peace as he shares stories of addressing anxiety and reactivity in his own life. And he helps listeners identify how reactivity shows up in their bodies so that they can actively diffuse it.

Tune in for an episode that is Scripturally rich, gently guiding, and practically applicable.

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

Notice and Diffuse Reactivity Jan 28, 2024

Show notes

Steve digs deeper into the anxiety known as "reactivity" and the different ways we all respond when our values are broken by others. He uses the 2024 presidential election as an example, giving viewers a couple of tools to manage reactivity. For more about Steve, and to download his video ‘The 4 Spaces of Anxiety’ visit stevecusswords.com

Being Human with Steve Cuss, in collaboration with Christianity Today.

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Pilot Episode Jan 21, 2024

Show notes

The first episode of Being Human With Steve Cuss, in collaboration with Christianity Today.

Steve talks about the nature of reactivity, how it disconnects us, and how being a ‘well self’ is kept for human flourishing. Steve shares much of his own journey and gives a couple of tools to manage reactivity.

For more about Steve, and to download his video ‘The 4 Spaces of Anxiety’ visit www.stevecusswords.com

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EP 196: Annual Wrap Up with Lisa Cuss Dec 22, 2023

Show notes

The Friendly Neighborhood Therapist joins Steve on this annual wrap up. They chat about lessons learned this year, giving yourself the gift of wellbeing in 2024 and what is coming down the pike for next year. Plus, Steve shares his favorite advent poem.

We also announce the podcast's new name. NOTE: next year our podcast name is changing as we move onto a new partnership, but you don't need to do anything - you can access it through your existing podcast subscription.

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Ep195: J.S. Park Dec 10, 2023

Show notes

*Apologies for the crunchy audio at the beginning of the show*

J.S. (Joon) Park is a hospital chaplain and author of The Voices We Carry. Steve first encountered J.S. through his remarkable twitter feed which is well worth a follow here.

Joon talks through his first day as a chaplain, how verbatims help us grow and how to stay human in a world of constant suffering and death.

This was a remarkable interview!

Thanks to our sponsors:

To make a difference in the lives of aged out foster youth visit Dream Makers Project

Visit Seminary Now to engage an amazing library of courses for your faith. Use CUSS30 coupon code for 30% off.

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