By Preston Ulmer
Introduction
As a child, I loved building things. From disassembling a lawn mower engine in order to make my skateboard go faster, to winning the sixth-grade science fair, my imagination was always thinking up new things to build. New ways to get around. New inventions that, from my perspective, no boring adult had previously thought of. If the sky was the limit, I would be the one to figure out how to get there (let’s build a rocket)! The seeds of greatness were always only a thought away. Or so I believed.
That was a time before distractions were as readily available as they are now. And, at the risk of sounding like a reminiscent old man, it was before YouTube, Netflix, and whatever HBO calls themselves now. While every day was filled with the possibility of a new adventure, I always seemed to run into the same problem . . . my dad’s toolbox.
Beyond using a screwdriver and a hammer, I didn’t know how to work with much else. It wasn’t because my dad didn’t have the right tools; rather, I was familiar with only a few of them. And learning to use the other ones felt dangerous (it probably was). If I was going to invent something that actually made a difference in the world, I needed to step outside of my comfort zone and ask someone to teach me how to use more of those tools.
It would require some unlearning on my part.
It would require a teacher.
And it would require practice. Lots of practice.
Importance of Spiritual Formation
Welcome to the discipleship crisis of the 21st century church. It’s not that we can’t think up what it would look like to follow Jesus. There’s a good precedent for that. Plus, recent church planting networks and Kingdom-minded entrepreneurs have imaginations that are constantly showing us what the new wineskin might look like. I think the problem is the tools we’re using. Many modern discipleship frameworks and curriculums use experts and answers. The aim has become teaching people more and better doctrine, moral adherence, and stronger defenses of the faith. And while all those have their place (depending on the age and stage of someone’s journey), it’s imperative that we learn to use other tools. The proverbial screwdriver and hammer have been exhausted and might be hurting the mission. Statistics are showing that the ways we are going about discipleship are not intriguing the spiritually open at best and are even catapulting people away from the faith at worst. It’s time for some unlearning on our part.
There are currently more than 188 million spiritually open individuals in America who are non-practicing. That means they do not go to church, they don’t have a consistent spiritual growth plan, and they are infrequently involved in acts of charity or Christian community. However, as we read the Gospels, these are the types of people Jesus, the greatest of all teachers and so much more, would call. Jesus calls the open.
This raises a few concerns when it comes to modern-day discipleship methods:
- Are we still open?
- Are we, as Jesus followers, calling only those who already think like us (rather than the open)?
To move forward in our discipleship, we must go back: back to the biographies of Jesus. It’s time to reintroduce the churchgoer, the non-churchgoer, and ourselves to the Jesus who changed history. The very Jesus to whom so many could be open.
Asking the right questions will help us get there. Continuing to ask Jesus questions will keep us there.
How did the followers of Jesus practice discipleship?
What did they do?
What motivated them to do it?
Where have we possibly become derailed from that mission?
A Spiritual Formation Movement
Introducing Jesus XP. Jesus XP is one of the only question-based discipleship frameworks that centers itself on Jesus and in the Gospels, is practice-oriented, and keeps us spiritually open to the call of Christ. It does so through the familiar small-group paradigm to implement ancient and new spiritual practices that help people become fully formed disciples. Foundational to the origin of Jesus XP is the idea that spiritual formation is practical and requires practice.
The world will know that we are Jesus’ disciples by how we love (John 13:35). The Book of James echoes these words when he writes that faith without works is dead (James 2:17). And for any of us tempted to think an active faith isn’t necessary in our spirituality, the author of Hebrews reminds us that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Our Spirit-created faith is actively forming and shaping us: not merely by what we think, but by what we do.
Spiritual formation needs to be practical if it is going to work.
Every Jesus XP session includes doable practices for each member of the group to practice during the week. These practices will reflect the week’s reading and are meant to provide help and hope for the person engaged in them, as well as for the community around that person. Take, for example, the practice of Daily Rhythm. This is a core practice (more on that later) within Jesus XP with a goal of being present with Jesus, others, and our selves. To do that, part of the practice is called “no phone while waiting.” This can be so difficult, but it can also be so rewarding.
“No phone while waiting” means that during the week set aside for this core practice, each disciple of Jesus is invited to put their phone away any time they are waiting. They might be waiting to pick up the kids, waiting for a table at the restaurant, even waiting at a red light!
This is an incredibly practical way for us to stop distracting ourselves into spiritual oblivion. Instead, we pay attention to the people around us, to the emotions inside of us, to the thoughts captivating our imagination. This simple act, practiced for a week, gives us a new tool to becoming present and aware like Jesus. Granted, it’s not easy but it is simple. It just takes practice.
Following a week of practicing, the Jesus XP group then has a check-in with one another: “How was it for you as you practiced _______?” the group guide may ask. This allows the entire group to hold space for one another as they reflect on how clumsy or inconsistent we can be when it comes to the practical parts of our faith. Every time I lead a Jesus XP group, I find the check-in to be one of the most fun (sometimes funny) parts of the experience! People who have been Christians most of their lives find themselves stumbling through the practical because they may be more used to growing in knowledge than practicing the practical. And while knowledge certainly shares the steering wheel in our journey, faith calls us to action.
There are 5 of these practical practices included in every 8-week Jesus XP experience.
Referred to as “core practices,” they are:
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Lectio Divina - Lectio Divina is an ancient spiritual practice focused on prayerfully engaging the biblical text and encountering Jesus, the Living Word, through it. The term is derived from Latin words meaning “reading” (Lectio) and “divine” (Divina). This divine reading is a conversation with God that opens spaces to hear his voice through Scripture. This practice is done by reading through a particular passage three times and paying attention to any word or phrase that stands out. In a Jesus XP group setting, the entire group practices this together in their communal reading of Scripture.
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Community at the Table - Community around a table is more than occasional hospitality. It’s truly a practice—one that helps us remember that Jesus longs for tables full of people who are different from one another (Luke 14) but who experience his presence among them. It is a place of encouraging others and receiving encouragement. It is a place for asking questions and deepening our relationship with Jesus and one another. As you practice community at the table, look one another in the eye so people feel valued and seen, and remember that Jesus is in your midst, working all things together for the good of those who love him.
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Daily Rhythm - Daily Rhythm is an intentional way to experience the day with Jesus and others. Jesus spoke about being in the world but not of the world. Practicing Daily Rhythm gives his followers a way to lessen the voice of the world while increasing the voice of God. There are a few intentional ways Jesus XP suggests to practice being with Jesus and others throughout the day according to the Daily Rhythm practice.
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- Scripture before phone. How we start the day matters. Refusing to check the phone until reading a passage of Scripture is a way of replacing the question “What do I need to do today?” with a better one: “Who is Jesus and how can I become more like him?” Daily immersion in Scripture resists the anxiety of emails, the anger of news, and the envy of social media. Instead, it forms us in our true identity as beloved children of God.
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Spend the day with Jesus. Prayer keeps us connected to Jesus all day. One way to experience that connection is through morning, midday, and evening prayer. Prayers are simply our words to God and a listening heart as he speaks to us.
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No phone while waiting. We are made for presence, but so often our phones are the cause of our absence. To be two places at a time is to be no place at all. Choosing to be present with ourselves, others, and God’s good creation is an act of love. What unexpected moment might you encounter today as you wait with awareness?
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Meaningful connection with others. The habit of connecting with someone during a shared meal, coffee, or conversation each day helps us orient our schedules and lives in a posture of hospitality—which Jesus regularly embodies and extends to us in every moment. With whom might you connect today?
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Sabbath - Jesus and those who came before him in the Jewish faith and culture would observe Sabbath from sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday, a 24-hour period of rest, worship, delight, and community. In the Jesus XP participant guide, the section for this practice provides a grid with three blocks to fill in each day—morning, afternoon, and evening—as you set aside time for worshipful renewal. Jesus’ Sabbath would have been the Friday evening block, the Saturday morning block, and the Saturday afternoon block.
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Examen Prayer - Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556) developed this prayer practice. It focuses on being attentive to, and interacting with, God’s loving presence amid daily life. Followers of Jesus might pray this prayer at the end of a day or at a time of transition in their day. The Jesus XP participant guidebook teaches the practice with these points of prayer, which are further explained in the book: Light, Thanks, Review, Respond, Next.
While each Jesus XP participant guide outlines practices unique to the overall theme of the particular Gospel, these five (above) are included in all of them. These practices help us show up less anxious in the world, living as people who can recognize the grace of God around us and in one another. It is through practices like these that Jesus XP continually forms the disciple into a follower of Jesus.
Who Is Jesus XP For?
Jesus XP is for anyone who longs to be formed by the words and way of Jesus. It’s for anyone who may be exhausted by current ministry models and mindsets so often driven by statistics rather than stories. It is for the person who has been found wanton in the face of cliche answers and who wants to encounter curiosity and mystery around Jesus. It’s for the spiritual but not religious. It’s for the religious, who want to practice deeper spiritual formation. It’s for the ones who see hypocrisy and want to return to the words and ways of Jesus. It’s for the spiritually wounded, the seeker, and even the long-time Christian.
Jesus XP knows no enemies but invites everyone to the table. Perhaps it is best to point out who wouldn’t be a good fit for this experience.
Jesus XP isn’t for the certainty-seeking Christian who wants to bolster their faith against the world. It’s not for the expert to show off their expertise. It’s not for the church that sees church involvement as the pinnacle of discipleship. It’s not for the morally upright who are uncomfortable with ambiguity. On the contrary to all these things, Jesus XP calls the open to welcome what the Spirit of God is doing through the story of Jesus in real time.
The story of Jesus has never stopped. It’s gone far beyond any myth or legend into a category of its own. It requires faith not even the size of a mustard seed to do its work. It was never meant to become a study alone. It was always meant to study the group, to form a community of people into the love of God, as made known through Christ.
Jesus XP started during Covid. A group of church leaders took inventory of how Sunday-centric things had become and they asked themselves, “What if we got back to how this all started?” The state of the world made them set aside the tools they had, and they had to learn some new ones from the old toolbox.
Since that time, thousands of lives have been changed because of Jesus XP. Today it lands at a cultural moment when people are more intrigued by Jesus and less likely to be drawn to the church. What if their choice didn’t have to be this either/or between the two? What if the church started to look so much like Jesus that the lines we have drawn fade?
Jesus XP brings these as the tools for spiritual formation: Jesus’ story, practice, curiosity, and community. Those tools come from an old toolbox that Jesus XP has repackaged into something that can be fit into any ministry paradigm. Will you join?
Try Jesus XP for eight weeks. Choose a Gospel, create a group, order the participant guides, equip your leaders with the leaders kit, and start the journey. The call to follow Jesus is a daily invitation into practicing a way the world longs for but does not know. Will you be the one who brings it to them?