Being Human with Steve Cuss

Host Steve Cuss sits down with Matt Wenger for a candid conversation about addiction, intimacy, and healing. Together, they unpack the complexities of sexual addiction, the ripple effects it has on loved ones, and why recovery is best understood as a "team sport." Matt highlights the power of vulnerability, group support, and true intimacy as antidotes to the false connections addiction promises. Steve and Matt also shine a light on betrayal trauma experienced by partners, offering hope, empathy, and pathways toward healing for everyone impacted.

Episode Resources:


Explore Matt’s work at the Begin Again Institute


Understanding the Signs and Causes of Betrayal Trauma


Romans (from the New Testament) - It is mentioned in the context of discussing sin as an infection or condition rather than solely a moral issue.


Read The Great Commandment (in Luke, Matthew, and Mark’s gospels)


Read Romans 8:38-39 


Read Romans 7 (Paul discuss sin struggles)


More about Matt Wenger

This episode of Being Human is from our vault.

Sign up for Steve’s Newsletter & Podcast Reminders

Capable Life Newsletter

Get the Assets & Liabilities pdf and the Life Giving List

Join Steve at an Upcoming Intensive

Capable Life Intensives

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

In this episode of Being Human with Steve Cuss, Steve welcomes fellow Australian Matt Smallbone, a Nashville pastor and author of The Prayer Experiment. Matt shares how he overcame personal struggles with prayer—including a period of spiritual distance following a miscarriage—by committing to pray the Lord's Prayer multiple times daily. He explains it as a framework for reorienting from reactivity to connection with God. The conversation also explores family-of-origin dynamics, including the assets and liabilities of growing up in a pastor's household.

Episode Resources:


Matt Smallbone’s The Prayer Experiment: How Praying Like Jesus Realigns Everything - Our Thoughts, Our Hearts, and Our Posture Toward God and the World


Dallas Willard's Teaching on Prayer


Doctor Daniel Amen's Social Media Insights


Church of the City: Downtown Nashville


The Lord’s Prayer: Matthew 6:9–13 (ESV)


Jon Tyson’s sermon: Teach Us To Pray: Pray What You’ve Got

More From Matt Smallbone:


Matt Smallbone’s website


Church of the City Downtown teaching podcast

Sign up for Steve’s Newsletter & Podcast Reminders

Capable Life Newsletter

Get the Assets & Liabilities pdf and the Life Giving List

Join Steve at an Upcoming Intensive

Capable Life Intensives

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

In this episode of Being Human, host Steve Cuss welcomes Australian family systems expert and author Jenny Brown to discuss her new book, The Parenting Paradox. Steve and Jenny weave together family systems theory, faith, and practical parenting wisdom. They explore how parents can reduce anxiety by focusing on their own growth rather than trying to fix their children. Key topics include managing reactivity, setting healthy boundaries, navigating social media challenges, and parenting adult children and grandchildren. Jenny emphasizes that parental success shouldn't be measured by a child's behavior, but by a parent's own principles and self-awareness. 

Episode Resources:


Jenny Brown’s The Parenting Paradox: Loving Our Children by Giving Them Space to Grow


Bowen Family Systems Theory’s Eight Concepts


Understanding Differentiation of Self


Tim Keller’s Counterfeit Gods


Australia bans social media for children under 16


Read Matthew 7:3–5 ESV

More From Jenny Brown:


Jenny Brown’s Website


Family Systems Institute


Jenny Brown’s Growing Yourself Up: How to bring your best to all of life's relationships


Parent Hope Project


Parent Hope Podcast

Jenny Brown’s Author Page
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Being Human with Steve Cuss, married couple Matthew and Joanna Raabsmith share their personal journey through Matthew's sexual addiction and the betrayal it caused in their marriage. Joanna, a marriage and family therapist, describes how a class on shame and guilt led to Matthew's confession. Together, they discuss the importance of honesty, self-awareness, and understanding family-of-origin patterns in achieving healing. Now co-authors and ministry leaders, they help other couples rebuild trust and intimacy after betrayal, emphasizing curiosity over judgment and offering hope for lasting restoration.

Episode Resources:


Joanna & Matthew Raabsmith & Dan Drake’s Building True Intimacy: Creating a connection that stands the test of time


Explore the Raabsmith’s Intimacy Pyramid


Faithful & True workshops and intensives


More about Mark and Debbie Laaser


Explore Restoring the Soul and Michael Cusick


Explore RelateStrong at Pepperdine's Boone Center


What is The Murray Method's Trauma Egg

More From Matthew & Joanna Raabsmith:The Raabsmith’s website
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Being Human with Steve Cuss, Steve and Clarissa Moll explore the concept of "life-giving habits" — intentional practices categorized into people, places, and activities that help reduce reactivity and deepen awareness of God's presence. Steve explains how building a personalized list of God-given pleasures, from micro-habits like holding a spouse's hand to larger experiences like fly fishing, transforms everyday moments into acts of worship and gratitude. The conversation highlights how these habits build resilience, support community, and transcend cultural boundaries, ultimately inviting listeners to recognize and receive God's gifts more intentionally.

Episode Resources:


Download Steve Cuss’s Life Giving List


Steve Cuss’s Managing Leadership Anxiety


G.K. Chesterton’s Orthodoxy


Zephaniah 3:17 (ESV) 

More From Clarissa Moll:


Explore Clarissa Moll’s website


Read Clarissa Moll’s substack

Sign up for Steve’s Newsletter & Podcast Reminders

Capable Life Newsletter

Get the Assets & Liabilities pdf and the Life Giving List

Join Steve at an Upcoming Intensive

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