Being Human with Steve Cuss Christianity Today

A systems theorist walks into an organization and orders playfulness and earnestness.
This isn’t just a silly take on a joke format—it’s a tested method of determining whether or not teams have what it takes to go the distance. As host Steve Cuss explains on this episode of Being Human, too much seriousness on a team tends to lead to rigidity, but playful teams tend to be able to handle ambiguity and challenges. 
Could the same be true for worship?
On this episode, Cuss considers the intentional inefficiency of both play and worship. He explains how overly earnest people and teams tend to be easily offended and lacking in humor, which blocks intimacy, and explores how the same can be true in worship. Playfulness, on the other hand other hand, inherently invites us to lose track of time rather than overemphasize getting everything right. 
Tune in for an episode that invites us to treasure our faith through playful presence with God.
Resources mentioned in this episode include: 

Bowen family systems theory


Death by Meeting: A Leadership Fable About Solving the Most Painful Problem in Business by Patrick Lencioni


Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton

“Letter XLVI” by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux


The Expectation Gap: The Tiny, Vast Space between Our Beliefs and Experience of God by Steve Cuss


Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and Synagogue by Edwin Friedman


“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 cares for our troubles, but they don’t worry him.” 
So says Alan Fadling, who joins host Steve Cuss on this episode of Being Human. Fadling is an author and the leader of Unhurried Living, a non-profit that trains people to rest deeper, live fuller and lead better. His latest book, The Non-Anxious Life, draws from spiritual formation and touches on systems theory, as well. 
Cuss and Fadling discuss the ways that anxiety is not just a personal dynamic, but an organizational one. They consider what Dallas Willard had to say about anxiety and peace, how anxiety communicates that God is not there for us, and what it may look like to remember that Jesus is present with us. They talk about the differences in believing that “I am anxiety” and “I have anxiety.” And they consider how anxiety influences leadership, our sense of connection with Jesus, and our engagement with culture. 
Tune in for an episode that sheds light on the way of peace.
Resources mentioned in this episode include: 

Alan Fadling


The Non-Anxious Life: Experiencing the Peace of God's Presence by Alan Fadling

Unhurried Living

George Doebler

Bowen family systems theory

Edwin H. Friedman

Dallas Willard

Viktor Frankl


“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

If you struggle to keep your thoughts to yourself in the internet age, you’re not alone. On this episode of Being Human, host Steve Cuss admits that he struggles with a core belief that sounds something like the world needs my opinion. What are Christians to do in an era when there’s nonstop opportunity to reply, comment, and react? 
On this episode, Cuss welcomes someone he looks up to in this regard: Jay Kim, lead pastor of WestGate Church in San Jose, California and author of several books, including his latest, Listen, Listen, Speak. Kim and Cuss consider the implications of God as infinite and humans as finite and the immensity of eternity. They talk about Kim’s emphasis on listening, formative moments in his faith, and how he believes social media is shaping people. Their conversation covers spiritual practices that can help us remain rooted in a tumultuous era and points to the characteristics of God reflected in creatures and creation. 
Resources mentioned in this episode include: 

Jay Kim

WestGate Church

Analog Church: Why We Need Real People, Places, and Things in the Digital Age


Analog Christian: Cultivating Contentment, Resilience, and Wisdom in the Digital Age by Jay Y. Kim


Listen, Listen, Speak: Hearing God and Being Heard in a Noisy World by Jay Y. Kim

Gravity

Interstellar

Neil Postman


Hate Inc.: Why Today’s Media Makes Us Despise One Another by Matt Taibbi

The Art Institute of Chicago


Nighthawks by Edward Hopper


The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis

Bo Burnham: Inside

“The Ignatian Examen”

The Lord’s Prayer

Andy Crouch

Joshua Tree


“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

So much of our experience is shaped by what gets passed down to us. Whether it's trauma, wisdom, or a signature hair color, traits and knowledge travel from generation to generation.
On this episode of Being Human, Steve Cuss welcomes George Dobeler, the chaplain who first passed down the concept of family systems theory to Cuss. Doebler and Cuss talk about Doebler's learning from Murray Bowen, who founded the theory. They discuss the importance of understanding one’s family system when it comes to diffusing anxiety. Doebler and Cuss provide real-life examples of systems theory helping people become less reactive and more in touch with God, themselves, and others. 
Their conversation covers chaplaincy, trauma recovery, and how theology shapes our responses to anxiety.
Resources mentioned in this episode include: 

Bowen family systems theory

George Doebler

Murray Bowen

Harry Stack Sullivan

Edwin H. Friedman

Genogram


Friedman’s Fables by Edwin H. Friedman


A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix by Edwin H. Friedman


“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

Some of the most beautiful art in existence was born of great trauma and pain. Think of Vincent Van Gogh, for example, or the Psalms written from a hiding place. 
On this episode of Being Human, Steve Cuss welcomes two artists who both know great tragedy and have produced remarkable creative work: Charlie Peacock and Andi Ashworth. The married couple recently published a book, Why Everything That Doesn't Matter, Matters So Much: The Way of Love in a World of Hurt, and they join Cuss for a discussion of grief, art, and hospitality. Their conversation touches some of the couple’s lowest valleys and highest mountains. They talk about Art House America, which they founded in 1991, and how music and writing have been their companions in times of joy and sorrow. 
Tune in for a vulnerable and rich discussion of marriage, self-reflection, and the hope of Christ in all things. 
Resources mentioned in this episode include: 

Vincent Van Gogh on Doctor Who


Charlie Peacock

Andi Ashworth


Why Everything That Doesn't Matter, Matters So Much: The Way of Love in a World of Hurt by Charlie Peacock and Andi Ashworth

Art House America

Greenbelt Festival

Scotty Smith

Francis and Edith Schaeffer


My Father’s Crown by Charlie Peacock

Luci Shaw

Paranassus Books


Music & Meaning with Charlie Peacock


“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 workplace can be a setting where people see their worth and have it honored by others. It can also be a hub of discouragement, aimlessness, and a lack of encouragement. 
On this episode of Being Human, host Steve Cuss welcomes Jeff Haanen, author of Working from the Inside Out. Haanen, who is the founder of the Denver Faith and Work Institute, sheds light on how inner work can shape outer work and what it looks like to live out Christianity in jobs and careers. He provides listeners with a starting point for thinking theologically about their work and gives pastors some tips for helping their congregants feel seen in their work lives.
Cuss and Haanen talk about dignifying all types of honest work, the value of physical labor, and what it looks like to work unto the Lord when career and passion don’t align. 
Resources mentioned in this episode include: 

Denver Institute for Faith and Work


Working from the Inside Out: A Brief Guide to Inner Work That Transforms Our Outer World by Jeff Haanen

The Center for Faith and Work 

Lesslie Newbigin

Charlotte Institute for Faith & Work

Nashville Institute for Faith and Work

Made to Flourish

“God of the Second Shift”

Treatment Technology

Babette’s Feast


“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