Restoring the Soul with Michael John Cusick

“ The Enneagram is the Face of God and the Body of Christ. ”  - Kelley Gray Today, we’re continuing a 5-part series on how the Enneagram can strengthen your marriage or intimate relationship. Michael’s Restoring the Soul colleague is Kelley Gray, our resident expert on the Enneagram. Part 2 will focus on understanding how your partner handles conflict. A popular guest on a previous Restoring the S...

“ A relationship will never ever improve or thrive on autopilot. ”  - Kelley Gray On the next two episodes of Restoring the Soul, we’re going to feature the first two parts of a 5-part series of conversations with Kelley Gray, our resident expert on the Enneagram. Michael and Kelley will unpack how the Enneagram can strengthen your marriage or intimate relationship. The Enneagram isn’t a new pheno...

“ I believe every leader in ministry is broken. And they are not alone .” - Sean Seay There is a growing crisis for church leaders in America. Recent data collected from Barna indicate that U.S. pastors are currently in crisis and at risk of burnout causing them to give up their ministry calling or even jeopardize their marriages and families. In 2021 alone, there was a dramatic increase in the nu...

“ I think it is naive to ignore the journey of people who have been on the margins in our society. ” - Rev. Dr. Dennis Edwards On this edition of Restoring the Soul and in honor of Sunday’s Juneteeth holiday, we would like to present one of Michael’s most compelling conversations with Rev Dr. Dennis Edwards where they discuss race and Christianity in modern America as it relates to current events....

“ The call of spirituality is to be fully human and fully alive. ” - Brian Boecker Ruth Haley Barton once said, “...there is a truer self waiting to be recognized and breathed into life by the Spirit of God.” The war between the false self and the true self is real and for some of us, is fought throughout our lives. Franciscan priest Richard Rohr feels that there is no more challenging spiritual i...

“ Relationship in community at its best is always bearing fruit. ” - Michael John Cusick Today on the podcast, we conclude Michael’s conversation with Mark Vesper and Steve Sargent of Foxhole Symphony, which is a podcast about the transformational value of men in authentic Christian community. Mark and Steve spoke with Michael a few weeks ago and were kind enough to lend us the recording to featur...

“ Our weakness and our brokenness is our power .” - Michael John Cusick For the next two episodes of the podcast, we’re excited to partner with the fine men of Foxhole Symphony . Mark Vesper and Steve Sargent have served arm in arm for over a decade seeking authentic Christian community by helping other men fight against isolation and living in the dark. Together, they host an amazing podcast call...

“ Most Christians are stuck between ceaseless striving and brokenness. ” - Dallas Willard On this edition of Restoring the Soul, Michael continues a series about Dysbelief. He will look at the “gap between what you believe what and you actually experience.” Dysbelief, in this instance, is not a lack of belief, but the existence of a dysfunctional belief system. Today, he will look at moralism and...

“ Belief is actually about trusting that God is good. ” - Michael John Cusick On this edition of Restoring the Soul, Michael debuts a series about Dysbelief. He will look at the “gap between what you believe what and you actually experience.” Dysbelief, in this instance, is not a lack of belief, but the existence of a dysfunctional belief system.  The various topics Michael will explore are: Moral...

“ Despite the grim circumstances, we could see God’s hand in it all. ” - Julianne Cusick On this edition of Restoring the Soul, Michael spends one of the most important hours of his life in conversation with his bride of over 30 years, Julianne Cusick, who put off the dream of grad school for nearly 25 years because of the discovery of Michael’s betrayal and infidelity.  So how do you recover from...

“ It was such a joy to discover in his deep heart, behind the scenes, Eugene was the man we thought he was. ” - Winn Collier On this edition of Restoring the Soul, Michael welcomes back Winn Collier. If you admire the life and writings of Eugene Peterson, you’re in for a real treat. As you will soon hear, Eugene Peterson was not only Winn’s pastor, he was his friend. So it made complete sense for...

“ I think what we all need is a redemption story. That's basically what the human heart longs for. ” - Dr. Rodney Reeves On this episode, Michael welcomes Dr. Rodney Reeves, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Rodney is also the author of 6 books, including what he & Michael are going to be discussing today, “Spirituality According to John.” Through all of the Ap...

“ Sometimes God cruelly puts me in places of exposure because He wants to bring healing to things that I have covered over. ” - Brian Boecker On this episode, Michael welcomes another member of the Restoring the Soul team for an opportunity for you to get to know them better. Today, we welcome Brian Boecker.  With over ten years of working with individuals and couples, Brian specializes in counsel...

“ Evangelicals in America are one of the most unreached people groups. ” - Tony Anderson On this episode, Michael concludes his conversation with Tony Anderson. As the Executive Producer of the film, The Heart of Man , Tony was intimately involved with every facet of the movie. Tony and Michael continue their discussion about the film but also delve into topics like why African American women are...

“ The only thing that translates to the world is raw experience with God. ” - Tony Anderson On this episode, Michael welcomes Tony Anderson to the podcast. Tony describes himself as a “sonic architect” who creates and composes music for film, television, and beyond and has been featured in promotions for National Geographic, GoPro, ESPN, Ford, and many more. Tony’s life has also been radically tra...

“ Only one side could be telling the truth and it's really disturbing either way. ” - Laura Barringer On this episode of Restoring the Soul, Michael welcomes Laura Barringer to the podcast. Over the past decade, we have seen incredible examples of toxic church culture that has upended congregations and has left thousands of church staff and congregants confused and shaken. In 2020 Laura co-au...

“ The greatest act of worship is to become who God says you are. ” - Rev. Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil On this episode of Restoring the Soul, Michael welcomes authors Rev. Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil and Rick Richardson to discuss their latest book, “The Heart of Racial Justice: How Soul Change Leads to Social Change.” In it, they recognize that racial and ethnic hostility is one of the most pervasive pr...

“ If you don’t have a narrative that you can share with yourself and others about who you think you are, you’re in trouble. ” - Ian Morgan Cron On this episode of Restoring the Soul, Michael concludes his conversation with Ian Morgan Cron. They’re discussing Ian’s latest book, “The Story of You: An Enneagram Journey to Becoming Your True Self.” In today’s conversation, Ian delves into the SOAR pro...

“ All transformation begins with story transformation. ” - Ian Morgan Cron On this episode of Restoring the Soul, Michael welcomes back our good friend, Ian Morgan Cron, to discuss Ian’s latest book, “The Story of You: An Enneagram Journey to Becoming Your True Self.” In today’s conversation, Ian reveals how each of us inhabits a broken story that runs counter to the Larger Story of divine grace a...

“ I think God is continually beckoning us into this space of intimacy and in order to get there, we oftentimes have to be devastated. ” - Ryan Taylor On this episode of Restoring the Soul, Ryan Taylor joins Michael to conclude their conversation about Ryan’s book Awkward Spirituality: The Divinity of Ordinary Life . In today’s conversation, Ryan candidly reflects about expectations in life and how...

“ We’re afraid to lose the control that we think we have over the life that we think that we’re living .” - Ryan Taylor On the next two episodes of Restoring the Soul, Ryan Taylor joins Michael to talk about his book Awkward Spirituality: The Divinity of Ordinary Life . In today’s conversation, Ryan reflects on his spiritual journey that was awakened through joining recovery efforts in Post-Katrin...

“ Everyone is invited into the experience of God. ” - Brian Zahnd On this edition of Restoring the Soul, Michael concludes his conversation with Brian Zahnd. Brian is the founder and lead pastor of Word of Life Church in St. Joseph, Missouri. He’s also the author of several books, including Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God, A Farewell to Mars, and Beauty Will Save the World. On today’s podcast...

“ Faith will not be sustained by some allegiance to a tradition but by one’s experience. ” - Brian Zahnd On this edition of Restoring the Soul, Michael welcomes author and Pastor Brian Zahnd. Brian is the founder and lead pastor of Word of Life Church in St. Joseph, Missouri. Known for his theologically informed preaching and his embrace of the deep and long history of the church, he provides a fo...

“There’s no better freedom than being the person God created you to be.” - Kevin Triplett On this edition of the podcast, Michael welcomes back Kevin Tripplett. Kevin was a guest in 2017 alongside Tony Anderson as they recounted their 2013 Restoring the Soul Men’s intensive weekend that served as the catalyst to their radical life change. They went on to also recount their stories in the incredibl...

“ Healing requires fierceness and tenderness. ” - Aundi Kolber On this edition of Restoring the Soul, Michael welcomes back Aundi Kolber to the Restoring the Soul podcast to conclude their 2-part discussion. On this episode, they will be discussing what it means to Discover Self Compassion”. Many of us don’t realize that just as God is profoundly kind and compassionate to us, we are invited to ste...