Being Human with Steve Cuss

Latest Episodes:

‘Healing What’s Within’ with Chuck DeGroat Oct 28, 2024

Show notes

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

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Hope in Unexpected Transitions with Brandi Wilson and Lori Wilhite Oct 21, 2024

Show notes

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

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Trauma, Tenacity, and Trusting God with Beth Moore Oct 14, 2024

Show notes

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

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The Four Spaces of Anxiety with Lisa Cuss Oct 07, 2024

Show notes

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:

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A Merciful Response to Doubt with Lisa Fields Sep 30, 2024

Show notes

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:

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The Power of Pilgrimage with Brian and Peri Zahnd Sep 23, 2024

Show notes

Around 250,000 people walk some portion of the Camino de Santiago, a 500-mile network of ancient pilgrim routes in Spain, each year. In 2016, Brian and Peri Zahnd became two of those people, and it’s marked their lives ever since.

On this episode, host Steve Cuss talks with the Zahnds about the ways that the pilgrimage shaped their perspectives on life and faith. The three discuss pastoring, political participation, and peace in Jesus. Their conversation also covers the Zahnds’ books, ministry, and marriage.

Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guests include:

Brian Zahnd
Every Scene By Heart: A Camino de Santiago Memoirby Peri Zahnd
Word of Life Church
Camino de Santiago
Faith, Hope, and Carnage by Nick Cave and Seán O’Hagan
The Way
Scot McKnight
Paul Among the People: The Apostle Reinterpreted and Reimagined in His Own Time by Sarah Ruden
Albergues on the Camino
The Wood Between the Worlds: A Poetic Theology of the Cross by Brian Zahnd

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The Search for Belonging When You're One of A Kind Sep 16, 2024

Show notes

Humility isn’t just deferring to the desires of others. It’s also standing up for the weak.

So says Dennis Edwards, vice president for church relations and dean of the seminary at North Park University, on this episode of Being Human. Cuss and Edwards talk about how Edwards’s many experiences of being the only Black man in the room have shaped him and his perspective. They talk about thoughtful and biblical approaches to theological education, the modern political landscape, and social media. And Cuss and Edwards consider how, for all of its flaws and challenges, the local church can offer unity in a way entirely its own.

Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include:

RevDrDre.com
Humility Illuminated: The Biblical Path Back to Christian Characterby Dennis R. Edwards
1 Peter (The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries) by John H. Elliott
The Urban Christian: Effective Ministry in Today’s Urban World by Ray Bakke
Bowen family systems theory

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‘The Bear’ Is a Master Class in Contagious Anxiety Sep 12, 2024

Show notes

The Bear is a show about cooking, kitchens, and Chicago. But for anyone who has watched more than an episode or two, it’s clear there’s more to the story.

On this special episode of Being Human, host Steve Cuss looks at seven core themes in the hit FX show The Bear. Through the lens of systems theory and anxiety theory, Cuss considers the false needs and beliefs revealed in the show’s characters. He examines their contagious anxiety, sheds light on their conflict patterns, and considers what the show has to say about relationships. Diving into everything from untamed ambition to unprocessed trauma, Cuss ponders the deeply human moments that keep viewers returning to The Bear.

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What It Means to Be Well Sep 09, 2024

Show notes

On this episode of Being Human, host Steve Cuss welcomes Alan Briggs, the founder of Stay Forth, a coaching organization that focuses on leader health and sustainable impact. Briggs’s latest book, AntiBurnout, empowers readers to avoid the perils of burnout and offers practical ways to measure one’s own health and well-being.

Cuss and Briggs discuss the back-to-school anxiety that so many families face, how our individual wiring contributes to our unique anxiety triggers, and how to navigate modern political life. Their discussion includes tips and tools for identifying the skills, gifts, and abilities that can lead us away from resentment and toward rest.

Resources mentioned during this episode include: