The Familiar Stranger Podcast The Way of Love with Jess Gracewski
Apr 29, 2025
Jess Gracewski, a Spiritual Director and Associate Pastor at Reality San Francisco, shares her insights on fostering belonging in a bustling city. She delves into transformative spiritual journeys, emphasizing the role of community in personal faith development. Jess discusses the balance between intellectual belief and spiritual encounters, the importance of safe spaces for growth, and the value of embracing failure as part of the journey. Her passion for deeper connections inspires a fresh perspective on living authentically within faith.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Jess’s Spiritual Awakening Story
- Jess Gracewski’s personal faith awakening came in her late 20s during a deep life crisis despite a church upbringing.
- She describes hearing God as a constant gentle whisper, a new and strange spiritual experience she initially questioned.
Trust Community With Spiritual Experiences
- Share your spiritual experiences or doubts with a trusted community to gain understanding and encouragement.
- Being honest where you are spiritually helps you learn to discern God’s voice and grow in relationship.
Experiencing Before Understanding
- Discipleship in the Bible emphasizes first experiencing God without context, then gaining language for that experience in community.
- This counters Western church traditions that prioritize intellectual understanding before personal experience.
