The Importance Of Curiousity (Episode 5 - Archive)The Importance Of Curiousity (Episode 5 - Archive)
Relational Recovery
Wes Thompson and Austin Hill talk about why curiosity and asking honest questions matter for faith, recovery, and relationships. They link biblical stories and historical examples to practical ways curiosity can help people feel heard, connected, and loved.
8:36•30 Jul 2026
Why Curiosity Matters for Recovery and Connection
Episode Overview
- Curiosity helps replace quick judgement with genuine understanding in conversations about faith, politics, and personal struggles.
- A growing confidence in who Jesus is can make difficult questions less frightening and more fruitful.
- Historical examples like Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Luther King Jr. show how Christians have used hard questions to confront extremism, racism, and authoritarianism.
- The story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman highlights how starting with a question values someone’s story and breaks down social barriers.
- Leading with questions and listening deeply can help people in recovery feel heard, connected, and loved without needing to be an expert.
“To lead with curiosity is so powerful. And it’s so easy to do.”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol and other destructive habits? This conversation on Relational Recovery circles around one simple but challenging practice: curiosity. Host Wes Thompson and co-host Austin Hill talk openly about how quickly people jump to judgement, whether in church circles, politics, or everyday disagreements. Instead of “Don’t even go there,” they argue that asking questions is where real change begins, especially for those at The Refuge who are wrestling with addiction and unwanted behaviours.
Austin shares how his faith shifted as his picture of Jesus grew bigger than just his own limited experience. “The closer I get to who Jesus is, the more I understand how much he loves me, the more I am confident in who he is.” That confidence makes space for hard questions and complicated issues. He points to history, noting how Christians like Dietrich Bonhoeffer challenged fascism, and how believers in communist countries and figures like Martin Luther King Jr.
raised uncomfortable questions about power, racism and poverty. The episode keeps tying these big examples back to everyday recovery. Curiosity is described as the same muscle needed to tackle both massive injustices and personal unhealthy habits. It’s scary, it takes effort, but it’s also where evidence of change shows up. Wes then reflects on John 4, where Jesus starts with a question to the Samaritan woman, crossing social and cultural lines just to hear her story.
From there, the message gets very practical: everyone wants to be heard, everyone has a story, and questions are often the doorway to connection. As Wes puts it, “To lead with curiosity is so powerful. And it’s so easy to do.” For anyone in recovery or supporting someone who is, this chat offers a gentle challenge: ask more questions, listen more deeply, and see what new connections form. So where might a bit more curiosity change your next conversation?
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.