Senior pastor and bestselling author Kyle Idleman joins Steve Cuss to explore the mental battles we all face—and how to overcome them. Using insights from his latest book, Every Thought Captive, Kyle explains the powerful connection between brain science, biblical truth, and emotional health. Together, Steve and Kyle offer ways to break toxic thought patterns and rewire your mindset for spiritual and mental transformation. If you're struggling with anxiety, offense, or negative talk, this episod...
Jun 23, 2025•43 min
Lisa’s back! Join host Steve Cuss and the therapist he turns to with his own questions – his wife. They examine some of Steve’s recent conversations about the intricate dance between faith and doubt. Drawing insights from guests like Geoff and Cyd Holsclaw and Dr. Jennifer Ripley, they explore how doubt can serve as a catalyst for spiritual growth. Unpack the ways childhood attachment styles influence our adult relationships with God and others, and offer practical ways the church can support th...
Jun 16, 2025•39 min
What happens when the Nicene Creed collides with TikTok theology? Host Steve Cuss and pastor-author Glenn Packiam unpack how this historic confession still anchors Christian identity in a digital age obsessed with individual “truth.” They explore the tension between personal experience and historic orthodoxy, the global church’s diverse voices, and why real unity starts in community—not algorithms. Steve and Glenn offer hope for listeners wrestling back to a rooted, resilient Christianity that r...
Jun 09, 2025•36 min
What happens when character formation breaks down in church leadership? Steve Cuss and psychologist-theologian Chuck DeGroat work through the hidden dynamics behind pastoral burnout, narcissism, and the slow erosion of integrity. They explore how unexamined coping mechanisms shape identity, why church boards often miss red flags, and what it really takes to create a culture of safety and true accountability. Steve and Chuck offer tools for healthier leadership—inside and outside the church. Reso...
Jun 02, 2025•48 min
What if your earliest relationships are still shaping your faith today? With this in mind, Steve Cuss sits down with Cyd and Geoff Holsclaw to explore how attachment theory influences our connection to ourselves, others, and God. From insecure attachment styles and coping mechanisms to trauma, church culture, and spiritual growth, Steve and the Holsclaws dive deep into the psychology behind our relational patterns—and how self-awareness and God’s love can lead to healing. Listen and join Steve a...
May 26, 2025•40 min
How can we walk with people through a crisis without burning out? Psychologist and professor Dr. Jen Ripley joins Steve to offer a practical guide for churches supporting people facing grief, trauma, and emotional distress. From setting boundaries to building strong community networks, Jen extends clear, compassionate wisdom for both pastors and lay leaders. This episode is a must-listen for anyone seeking to care well—without losing themselves in the process. Resources mentioned in this episode...
May 19, 2025•37 min
What do a layover in London and a territorial swan have to do with your spiritual growth? Host Steve Cuss unpacks how life’s in-between spaces—layovers, limbo seasons, and even awkward encounters—can become sacred ground that helps us destroy false needs. Drawing from biblical stories and personal insights, Steve challenges the false needs of control and perfection that block peace and presence. If you’ve ever felt stuck or spiritually adrift, this episode offers surprising insight, humor, and h...
May 12, 2025•16 min
What if doubt isn’t the enemy of faith but the beginning of deeper belief? On this episode of Being Human, Steve Cuss explores spiritual deconstruction and the way writers like Frederick Buechner and Madeleine L’Engle paved the way for honest, Christ-centered wrestling with belief. Sharing personal stories and biblical insight, Steve unpacks how anxiety, reactivity, and certainty can block spiritual growth—and how curiosity and vulnerability open the door to true connection with Jesus and others...
May 05, 2025•26 min
Cohosts Steve and Lisa Cuss revisit powerful conversations with guests like Jinger Duggar, Strahan Coleman, Ian Cron, and Greg Robbins, diving deeper into themes of spiritual growth, emotional resilience, and inner healing. Exploring the intersections of faith, mental health, and discipleship, Steve and Lisa reflect on how practices like gratitude, vulnerability, and relational awareness help us experience God’s presence more fully. Whether you’re navigating anxiety, triggers, chronic illness, o...
Apr 28, 2025•37 min
Host Steve Cuss and theologian Greg Robbins unpack the often-misunderstood Book of Revelation. Far from being a roadmap to doom, Revelation offers a powerful message of hope, calling Christians to live with courage, sacrifice, and trust in God’s ultimate victory. They tackle Armageddon, explore the nature of true power, and reframe Revelation as a deeply pastoral text for discipleship. If you've ever wrestled with end-times anxiety, this conversation will refresh your view with biblical clarity ...
Apr 21, 2025•41 min
In this episode, Steve Cuss and Strahan Coleman explore the transformative power of prayer, the role of vulnerability in faith, and the ways suffering can deepen our connection with God. Strahan shares his journey through chronic illness and the spiritual awakening that followed, offering insights into how gratitude and prayer can reshape our experience of God’s love. At the center of Steve and Strahan’s conversation is the intersection of neuroscience with faith and the reasons why the church m...
Apr 14, 2025•43 min
Reality TV alum Jinger Duggar Vuolo joins host Steve Cuss to share her powerful journey from fear-based religion to authentic faith and emotional freedom. She opens up about growing up under Bill Gothard’s teachings, breaking free from people-pleasing, and healing from spiritual trauma. Together, Jinger and Steve explore how vulnerability, community, and self-awareness can lead to lasting transformation. This episode offers encouragement for anyone navigating identity, faith, and the pressure to...
Apr 07, 2025•45 min
Author, psychotherapist, and recovering addict Ian Cron joins Steve Cuss for a powerful conversation on addiction, identity, and faith. Ian shares his personal struggles with alcoholism, the complexities of living as a public figure, and the spiritual insights gained through recovery. Steve and Ian explore the nature of addiction as a misguided solution to deeper wounds, the process of deconstructing faith on the way to reconstruction, and the church’s unique role in offering forgiveness and hea...
Mar 31, 2025•39 min
We may not expect leadership experts, a Grammy Award-winning music producer, and a former USAID worker to have much in common. But as Steve and Lisa Cuss reflect on the past four episodes of Being Human, they discover a trio of themes arising throughout the conversations. Tune in as Steve and Lisa discuss words of wisdom from Uli Chi, Nathaniel Moller, Charlie Peacock, and Steve J. Cuss. They ponder the common threads of wondering what we do with fear, embracing curiosity, and exploring the inte...
Mar 24, 2025•30 min
First things first: Yes, both the host and guest on this episode are named Steve Cuss. The overlap doesn’t stop there, either. Both Steves work in the leadership space, host Steve through Capable Life and guest Steve through The GamePlan Consultancy. The two discuss guest Steve’s career in the video game industry, the importance of mentorship, and the intensity of burnout. They talk about cultivating joy among teams, balancing compassion for others with one’s own needs, and the hallmarks of serv...
Mar 17, 2025•44 min
Charlie Peacock is a Nashville music producer, jazz and rock-and-roll recording artist, singer-songwriter, and author. As Steve Cuss reflects on his friend Charlie's life, work, and new book Roots & Rhythm, a beautiful theme arises: the wildly relational nature of art. Charlie and Steve talk about the world-class musicians Charlie has worked with, the vulnerability of creating songs in collaboration, and what it looks like to stay human sized on a global stage. They discuss encouragement, lo...
Mar 10, 2025•50 min
“The richest man in the world turned off billions of dollars in funding for the literal poorest people in the world. It’s just, from my perspective, incomprehensible.” So says Nathaniel Moller, former USAID worker. Nathaniel and Steve discuss the presidential administration’s recent mass cuts to USAID programs and what the effects may be. They consider the cultural moments in America’s history when “the big C Church and the little church” have had a choice—operate out of fear or from love—and wh...
Mar 03, 2025•45 min
When Uli Chi thinks of wisdom, he primarily thinks of relational well-being. Steve and Uli discuss where wisdom and relationships intersect, why we need wise leaders, and what it looks like to relate rather than react. They discuss the current political climate and how it affects human connections, and they consider the importance of treating people as persons, not as simple ideas. Uli sheds light on concrete steps for living wisely, drawing on biblical examples that provide hope, direction, and...
Feb 24, 2025•37 min
What does it mean to live a fully integrated life in Christ? Lisa and Steve Cuss return to do a deeper dive into some of the profound themes that have emerged in recent episodes of Being Human. They reflect on what it means to be bewildered by God, as Zach Meerkreebs experienced during the Asbury Outpouring. They unpack Kathleen Smith’s definition of differentiation and Eugene Cho’s challenge to focus on one global need while championing others in their callings. The conversation also delves int...
Feb 17, 2025•25 min
“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. Steve Carter shares how he has dealt with being misunderstood when his highest values were wielded against him. He talks about the power of the Resurrection and shares what propelled him to write Grieve, Breathe, Receive—a memoir on grief and healing....
Feb 10, 2025•40 min
Feeling overwhelmed by the state of the world? Steve Cuss and Eugene Cho, president of Bread for the World, offer wisdom for Christians who want to pursue justice without burning out. Eugene and Steve discuss moving from a savior complex to faithful discipleship, engaging politics with compassion, and using our gifts to fight hunger and inequality. Tune in for a powerful conversation on justice, mercy, and making a lasting impact. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Eugene Cho Bread for...
Feb 03, 2025•49 min
Where does your energy go? That’s the question therapist and author Kathleen Smith ponders with Steve Cuss as they discuss anxiety, people-pleasing, and playfulness. Their conversation covers the way people turn to relationships for comfort and the importance of recognizing our finite nature as humans. They talk about systems theory and how it shapes Smith’s therapy practice. Smith and Cuss discuss the ups and downs of gossip, the power of intergenerational connections, and the intention it take...
Jan 27, 2025•32 min
When Zach Meerkreebs finished preaching at a university chapel service February 8, 2023, he texted his wife to say he felt like his sermon hadn’t gone well at all. Four hours later, he wept into a voice memo, asking her to load up their kids and head his way as soon as possible. What we now know as The Asbury Outpouring was beginning. Meerkreebs, a pastor and author, describes what it’s like to be part of a supernatural movement that takes on a life of its own. He and Steve talk about the shame ...
Jan 20, 2025•41 min
Every human has three core relationships: to themselves, to others, and to God. Within those relationships, there are four dynamics that can infect them: assumptions, reactivity, predictable recurring patterns, and attempted solutions. Listen in as Steve and Lisa Cuss start a conversation that explores these relationships and dynamics throughout 2025. The couple provides a high-level overview of each relationship and dynamic, setting the stage for upcoming episodes that will take deeper dives. T...
Jan 13, 2025•34 min
Whether our holidays are snowy or sunny—as they are for Steve Cuss as he records from Perth, Australia—the same thing is true: Christmas is a time to remember God’s nearness to us. Steve looks to the text of Luke 2, exploring Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem and their quest for a place to stay. He describes the meaning behind the Greek word philoxenia (“love of the stranger”) and the Hebrew word Immanuel (“God with us”) and considers what those terms may mean for Christians today. Ultimate...
Dec 23, 2024•15 min
When the American version of The Office premiered on NBC in 2005, its all-star cast charged right through the fourth wall and looked the audience in the eye. The show’s unique style and cringeworthy stories didn’t just put a new kind of television on display—they explored anxiety in the workplace and relationships in a fresh, often embarrassment-fraught way. As Steve Cuss and his son Andrew talk about the episode “Dinner Party”—arguably one of the most “I can’t keep watching this but I also can’...
Dec 16, 2024•38 min
What do a high schooler’s senior year and the offices of a high-fashion magazine have in common? Stress. During a discussion of The Devil Wears Prada, Steve Cuss and his college-bound daughter, Kaylee Cuss, talk about the anxiety on display in the iconic Meryl Streep film. The two talk about how Streep’s character, Miranda Priestly, may be the one in charge, but she’s arguably also the most anxious. They talk about trying to fit into existing systems, high emotions in the workplace, and relation...
Dec 08, 2024•28 min
When Joy Allmond was fresh out of college, she struggled to find a professional role in her field. She decided to make the most of her young, single years and became a flight attendant. The Lord used that experience to broaden her perspective—especially when she staffed one of the first flights to take to the skies after September 11, 2001. Now, Allmond is the executive editor of Christianity Today. She and Steve talk about how airport behavior often reveals deeper feelings and what it takes to ...
Dec 02, 2024•35 min
As the Thanksgiving holiday draws near in the US, Steve and Lisa Cuss reflect on the importance of gratitude. They talk about intentionally prioritizing the activities, people, and places that help us feel alive. Steve shares how keeping a Life Giving List has helped him through challenging faith seasons, and Lisa gives some practical examples for cultivating thankfulness in everyday life. Steve and Lisa talk about the often emotional experience of gathering with family for holidays and how to d...
Nov 25, 2024•27 min
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 fait...
Nov 18, 2024•35 min
