Friendship as a Spiritual Practice: Wake-Up Call Conversations with J.D. Walt and Jess Gracewski

Come hear from Jess at the New Room Conference Sept 30 - Oct 2

In-Person Tickets: seedbed.com/newroomconference2026

Virtual Livestream Tickets: seedbed.com/nrc26-livestream/#register

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This episode is a wide-ranging conversation between JD Walt and Jess Gracewski about Jesus, friendship, and spiritual formation. Jess shares her story of being adopted from South Korea, growing up in a military family, and eventually finding her calling as associate pastor at Reality San Francisco. A central thread throughout the conversation is how Jess came to know Jesus not just as an idea, but as a person through the embodied care of friends in the local church. JD and Jess reflect on the way real friendship makes Christ tangible through meals, conversations, prayer, vulnerability, and presence.

The heart of the episode is the claim that Jesus doesn’t merely love humanity in the abstract—he loves and likes each person personally, and that truth is often made visible through healthy Christian friendship. They linger over John 15, especially Jesus calling his disciples friends, and connect that passage to banded discipleship, healing, and transformation. Jess describes how small groups of trusted friends have helped her feel known, confess honestly, and grow in capacity to love others without performance or scarcity. By the end, the conversation presents friendship as both a means and a goal of discipleship: a living, grace-filled place where people encounter Jesus through one another.

Learn more about Reality Church in San Francisco: realitysf.com

Learn more about banded discipleship: discipleshipbands.com

CHAPTERS:
00:14 Introduction to Jess and Her Journey
03:16 Role at Reality Church
04:01 Personal Journey to Faith
07:10 Understanding Jesus' Love
10:26 The Essence of Friendship with Jesus
11:55 Jesus Likes You
14:39 Interconnectedness in Faith
15:59 Exploring John 15
17:58 Friendship and Discipleship
21:15 The Cathedral of Friendship
24:42 The Power of Friendship
29:44 Vulnerability and Healing
35:48 Banding and Transformation
41:44 Abundance in Relationships
45:44 Friendship as a Lifelong Journey

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