Episode 412: SOUL CARE SUMMER - Andy Crouch, "Amusing Ourselves to Death"

Restoring the Soul with Michael John Cusick

Restoring the Soul with Michael John Cusick
Episode 412: SOUL CARE SUMMER - Andy Crouch, "Amusing Ourselves to Death"
Aug 17, 2026 Season 17 Episode 412
Michael John Cusick

Andy Crouch didn't set out to write a parenting book. But when he'd mention offhand that his family had no screens in the house until his kids turned ten, young parents would rush to him afterward with what he described as hungry desperation in their eyes. The Tech-Wise Family came out of that hunger — and out of original research with Barna that helped quantify what most people were already sensing: something has shifted, and it isn't just about the kids.

In part one of this two-part conversation, Michael and Andy discuss why the real problem isn't screen-time limits but the entire posture of a life shaped around "easy everywhere." Andy makes a surprising case that the quest for effortless technology is, at its root, the same quest as alchemy, and that something spiritually dangerous coils around devices that promise to make us like God. They also talk about boredom: what it actually is, why creativity lives on the other side of it, and what we lose when we never have to sit still long enough to find out.

Part two continues next week.

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Episode Artwork Episode 412: SOUL CARE SUMMER - Andy Crouch, "Amusing Ourselves to Death" 30:03 Episode Artwork Episode 411: SOUL CARE SUMMER - Haejin Shim & Mako Fujimura, "The Fractures Filled with Gold" 53:44 Episode Artwork Episode 410: SOUL CARE SUMMER - Dan Allender, "The Story You Haven't Told" 40:05 Episode Artwork Episode 409: SOUL CARE SUMMER - Dan Allender, "None of Us Gets a Pass, Part 1" 27:53 Episode Artwork Episode 408: SOUL CARE SUMMER - Brad Jersak, "The God Who Never Looks Away" 43:22 Episode Artwork Episode 407: SOUL CARE SUMMER - Curt Thompson, "The Look That Sees You" 30:47 Episode Artwork Episode 406: SOUL CARE SUMMER - Curt Thompson, "You are Dirt and Breath" 39:19 Episode Artwork Episode 405: SOUL CARE SUMMER - Chuck DeGroat, "The Nine Faces of Narcissism" 47:45 Episode Artwork Episode 404: Brian Zahnd, "Why Heaven Has Gone Missing from the Church" 42:39 Episode Artwork Episode 403: SOUL CARE SUMMER - Sheila Wray Gregoire, "The Great Sex Rescue" 45:21 Episode Artwork Episode 402: SOUL CARE SUMMER - Aundi Kolber, "Try Softer, Part 2" 32:20 Episode Artwork Episode 401: SOUL CARE SUMMER - Aundi Kolber, "Try Softer, Part 1" 33:05 Episode Artwork Episode 400 - Dr. Gary Chapman, "The Love Language That Matters Most" 26:09 Episode Artwork Episode 399 - Ken Shigematsu, "How To Become Yourself" 52:25 Episode Artwork Episode 398 - Michael John Cusick, "The Temptation of Jesus and Your Attachment" 34:23 Episode Artwork Episode 397 - Geoff Holsclaw, "Your Attachment Style Shapes How You See God" 1:03:45 Episode Artwork Episode 396 - Liz Hall, "Find Meaning In Suffering" 1:01:13 Episode Artwork Episode 395 - Jay Stringer, "How Our Deepest Longings Shape Love, Healing, and Transformation" 1:08:06 Episode Artwork Episode 394 - Brian Lee, "From Broken to Beloved: A Journey through Spiritual Healing" 52:09 Episode Artwork Episode 393 - Safe and Secure: Attachment Styles, Boundaries, and Spiritual Healing 39:16 Episode Artwork Episode 392 - Michael John Cusick, "Understand Safety and Boundaries in Attachment Relationships" 31:22 Episode Artwork Episode 391 - Ericka Anderson, "Freely Sober: Exploring Christian Perspectives on Alcohol" 30:29 Episode Artwork Episode 390 - Mark Batterson, "Gradually Then Suddenly" 36:09 Episode Artwork Episode 389 - Jay Stringer, "The Civil War of Desire: Exploring Longings, Growth, and Healing" 44:39 Episode Artwork Episode 388 - Michael John Cusick, "Exploring Sacred Attachment: Parenting, Healing, and Connection" 34:46