Kalos Conversations

The landscape across the globe has changed dramatically in the last two weeks. Churches are creatively embracing how to love and disciple their people, while social distancing is ordered and the threat of sickness present. Seven Mile Road has had to pivot and shift church. In that, there have been evidences of how our work in discipling the women through the Kalos track has readied them for this moment. Matt and Patti take some time to address the upcoming release of what What Church Can Be in this unique time and why the message of the book is needed more than ever. They also share some on the ground moments of how the whole church is benefiting as women embrace where God has called them and look to serve and love those in need.

One of the questions we often get is, "How can we establish the kind of culture at our church where something like Kalos Track or Kalos Team can actually happen?" Well, we wrote a book on that! In this episode, Patti and Matt talk about the soon-to-be-released "What Church Can Be" book which walks the reader through both the theological vision and boots-to-the-ground practice that has formed the cultural "soil" at Seven Mile Road in which our Kalos work has thrived.

In this episode, we hear about Patti's weekend serving the women of Remnant Church in Richmond, VA. We also touch base on how the months post-Kalos-Conference have been and what's on the horizon with our work.

Jesus intends for the women in our churches to become holy and feminine forces for gospel advance. In this talk, Patti Rosell cast a big, beautiful, and Biblical vision of this for us.

Jesus' women have always advanced the gospel by saying "yes!" to the glories of their God-assigned femininity. In this talk, Matthew Kruse surveyed the Scriptures to show how partnership in ministry is driven by a woman wholeheartedly embracing (not denying or muting) her unique callings.

One way of confessing Christ is by delighting in and living out God's creative intentions for us as men and women. In love and wisdom, God created our race male and female, equal yet distinct. In this talk, Matthew Kruse unpacked some of the glory of that reality.

Jesus' people have always labored side-by-side as men and women for gospel advance in their homes and churches. In this talk, Patti Rosell spoke about how seeing the church as a missional family engenders partnership in gospel work.

We pulled together a few of the women who have done Kalos Track and are serving on a real live Kalos Team to hear their experiences and insights.

We built in some unrushed time for conference attendees to ask anything that they wanted. This was the second hour of question and answer.

We built in some unrushed time for conference attendees to ask anything that they wanted. This was the first hour of question and answer, which covered topics from loving single women to how to read those passages that address women (or men) only to what real life hospitality looks like.

We opened our first-ever "Women As Forces For Gospel Advance" conference with some gospel and prayer.

On the Friday night of our "Women As Forces For Gospel Advance" training event, we experimented with a live podcast! It was fun in that "never tried this before let's see what it's like" kind of fun way! We got to hear from a few of our listeners who were able to make it to Boston for the weekend and set the stage for the full day training event that followed the next day. Good times!

In this episode, Patti and Matt give glory to God by recounting many of the highlights of our time together at the first-ever Kalos Conversations conference. If they sound giddy, it's because the day was extraordinary --- beyond any of our expectations.

In this episode, we hear the stories from two women who have gone through the Kalos Track. Andea, who shared on an earlier episode with her husband, Clint, is co-leading a Kalos Track at their church, Seven Mile Road Waltham. Chelsea serves on the Kalos Team at Seven Mile Road Melrose. Both women share their unique experiences about spending a year going through the Kalos Track. This wraps up season 4, Kalos Stories.

In this episode, Patti talks with Margaret Kruse, aka Matt's mom, aka one the most holy and feminine forces for gospel advance our church has ever seen, about the impact that valuing young women in the church and modeling for them how an embrace of their feminine callings can drive forward the mission of God.

In this episode, we hear from some pastors who serve at Seven Mile Road Church. Justin is the Executive Pastor for all Seven Mile Road churches as well as pastor/elder for Seven Mile Malden. Tim serves as a pastor/elder for Seven Mile Melrose. Patti, Justin, and Tim talk Kalos culture within the church from a pastoral perspective. Many questions we are asked revolve around pastoral presence. How exactly does that work? Not only do we have a pastor lead the women through the Kalos Track, but we also have the Kalos Team work directly in partnership with the pastors for gospel advance. Pastors Tim and Justin share their story and give a snapshot of what it's like to serve in a church where the women are mobilized to be co-laborers in the gospel.

In this episode, we hear another Kalos Story. Patti sits down with Matt and Laurel Moran to talk about their experience with Kalos. The Morans were instrumental in the early days of developing the Kalos curriculum at Seven Mile Road Melrose. Matt was on staff as pastor/elder and Laurel was among the first group of women to go through a year together with the Kalos content. Together, they are now leading Kalos Track at their church outside of Buffalo, NY. In their conversation with Patti they share some realities of leading together, as a married couple, and how they've adapted the Kalos content for their own unique make-up of women and church context.

In this episode, Patti sits down with Clint and Andea Patronella to hear their Kalos Story. The Patronellas are native Texans turned Bostonian when they planted Seven Mile Road Waltham. They share about their vision for leading Kalos early in their church plant and their commitment for equipping the women they are given towards gospel partnership. We also hear about Andea's own experience going through the track at Seven Mile Road Melrose.

In this episode, Patti and Matt give us a big picture preview of what we can expect at our "Women As Forces For Gospel Advance" conference in May. This includes information about Friday night's pre-conference and a special snapshot of the content on Saturday. Patti also tells us what we can look forward to in Season 4. You can expect to hear a variety of voices who tell their own Kalos story, including other pastors, teams who are leading Kalos, and different women in the life of our church.

In this episode, we work another case study.You are in a gospel community where several of the men and women are fans of craft beer. Conversation naturally flows in the direction of the intricacies of selecting, brewing, consuming, enjoying different kinds of alcohol. At the end of one specific night together, one of the member’s most recent batch of craft beer is consumed by a few people. Over the course of the next few weeks, it becomes apparent that one couple has removed themselves from all communication/participation with the community. You find out it is because they have taken offense over the community’s disposition toward alcohol. In a brief conversation, you become aware that his parents were strict teetotalers, her father was an abusive alcoholic, and they’ve felt pressured/bullied by the community for their disinterest in/abstinence from alcohol. They do not feel that a truly Christian gospel community would be a place where alcohol is consumed. They have no intention to rejoin the group and are leaning toward leaving the church.- How would you help to resolve this conflict?

In this episode, we work another case study.There is an episode between two children in the life of the church. This leads to a conflict between the moms about what happened, who is at fault, how the situation was handled, what needs to happen now, etc. The moms are having a very hard maintaining relational unity in the wake of this.- How would you help to resolve this conflict?

In this episode, we work another case study.Someone who has been at the church for 5 years suddenly stops attending. You find out through the grapevine that their reasons are two-fold: 1, they were hurt that no one but a pastor from the church came to a recent family funeral. 2, they’ve been disillusioned with the trajectory of the church ministry for the last year and just want to go to another church. You have personally poured countless hours into their lives and the lives of their children. They did not say thank you. They did not address their grievances. They did not say “I was hurt.” They just left. You have reached out once for a conversation but they ignored your request. It seems they just want to be left alone and not have to deal with anything.- How would you help to resolve this conflict?

In this episode, Patti and Matt are interviewed by Reid Monaghan of Power of Change and The Gospel Underground podcast about the work we are doing in loving and gospeling women in the local church.

In this episode, we work another case study.Linda is a Christian mom of 3 elementary school-aged children. She has fallen into a rut where she is keeping up with the daily demands of life (not an easy task!) but not thriving in her walk with Christ or her relationship with her husband. She is feeling bad about growing older and coming to grips with her life being what it is. She is spending very little time in Word or prayer and has basically detached (conversationally, affectionately, sexually) from her husband for several months. When you do have gospel conversations with her that touch on her current state, her responses are generally either defensive (”I don’t really care. Whatever.”) or defeated (“This is life. It is what it is.”) · How would you begin to disciple Linda? · What questions would you ask?· What truths-about-God/Scripture would you invite her to read w/you?

In this episode, Patti and Matt answer some random questions (some fun, some serious) on the spot to give our listeners a chance to get to know who and how they are a little better!

In this episode, we talk through the following case study:Karen is 25 years old, engaged, getting her Masters, and involved in a gospel community. During a time of conversation with the group, she expresses frustration over several things: her fiancé and his apathetic demeanor, her fear about a lack of progress on her studies, and her guilt over living a life that is ‘self-centered right now.’ One of the other women in the group begins to encourage her with statements like, “It’s going to be ok. You’re doing the best that you can. Just stay at it and good things will happen.” etc.How would you begin to disciple Karen? What questions would you ask?What truths-about-God/Scripture would you invite her to read w/you?

In this episode, we talk through the following case study:Cami is in her late 30s and has recently jumped into the life of Seven Mile Road. She has zero Christian background but is attending on Sundays, is in a gospel community, and has asked the elders to be baptized. She is recently divorced. Her background includes serial sexual sin before marriage and since her divorce. She’s confesses to you that she is having casual sex with a guy that she is loosely dating because she likes sex and doesn’t want to be alone.How would you begin to love and gospel Cami?What questions would you ask?What truths-about-God/Scripture would you invite her to read w/you?

In this episode, we talk through the following case study:Jane is brand new to church and has connected with your gospel community. She’s a good mom, hard worker, and generally avoids the big sins in life. She was raised in a Roman Catholic home that was devoutly religious. She is constantly asking questions like “So what are the rules here?” and “Do you think I am doing everything that I am supposed to?” When you ask her what she likes about the church she says, “I love the people and the community. And it’s good to be back around church and Jesus and stuff.” How would you begin to love and gospel Jane? What questions would you ask?What truths-about-God/Scripture would you invite her to read w/you?

In this episode, we talk through the following case study:Sue is a 22 year old senior at a Christian college. She is a very smart and very driven student who has lined up a year-long internship with a medical agency in central Africa where she will be serving a public policy committee seeking to solve some continental health challenges. After this she intends to apply to medical schools in the U.S. and become a doctor. She has never had a serious boyfriend and thoughts of marriage and family are the farthest thing from her mind. She claims that she has never felt like the “motherly” type and does not know what to do with the Bible’s emphasis on marriage, submission, motherhood, and the home at this point in her life.How would you begin to love and gospel Sue?

In this episode, we talk through the following case study:Maryellen is a confessing Christian who has been coming to church for a few years. She is in her late thirties years old and has two very young children. She is also a well-educated, highly-skilled, well-paid professional with a full-time job on the 128 loop. Her husband also works full-time, but his job is flexible enough to allow him to help a ton with the kids and the house. The family’s week is a perpetual whirlwind of getting the children to and from daycare/school, figuring out meals (the family rarely eats together), and keeping the house in some semblance of order - all while working 40-50 plus commute time. She attends church 50% of the time, and is a marginal member of a gospel community. When push comes to shove, it is never work that gets short end of things (or she would lose her job/position) but always family and church/mission. During a time of confession, she says, “Like most women, I struggle with wanting it all. Yet I know that … I can’t have it all.” She leaves her statement at that. How would you begin to love and gospel this woman?

In this episode, we talk through the following case study:Heather is 36 year old mom with 3 daughters ages 5, 10 and 13. Three months ago her husband left her and the girls for a younger woman. She is now struggling to make ends meet by working full-time as a secretary while trying to run her home and stay on top of her daughters’ educational and social lives. When you talk with her, it becomes clear that she is bitter at having given herself to marriage and motherhood rather than establishing an independent career for herself. Since all the men in her life have failed to love and care for her (including her husband and her father, who was an alcoholic who abdicated all responsibility in her childhood home), she is now determined to encourage her daughters to reject any notion of Biblical femininity, encouraging them to “be the man in their life” by pursuing self-sufficiency and independence instead of marriage and motherhood. How would you begin to disciple Heather?How would you begin to disciple her daughters?

In this episode, we preview our upcoming Season 3 in which we'll walk through each of the case studies we use in training our women to value, love, and gospel every woman that comes through our doors.

In this final episode of Season 2, we talk about what impact the Kalos training and mobilization has had in the life of our church.

In this episode, we walk through a litany of texts that inform our theology and practice of "women in ministry" in the life of the local church. It is the clear teaching of Scripture that men and women are to partner together in doing gospel work AND that we are to embrace the distinct callings and glories of the specific sex that God has assigned to us as we work together. May our churches happily reflect the doctrine & culture of Romans 16 and I Timothy 2 and I Corinthians 5 and the rest of Scripture!

In this episode, we return to the theme of gospel-centrality in the doing of ministry by looking at the story of "the woman of the city." Her humility and feminity are placed on full and beautiful display in her love for Jesus, and this is the posture we want our women to take in their everyday obedience to Jesus and their making of disciples.

In this episode, we talk about finishing the Kalos Track strong with an overnight where we identify and affirm each woman's personality/wiring/gifting and talk about the ways that each woman can be serving the church in step with the way God has made them.

In this episode, we talk through the text of Romans 12 where Jesus' Apostle Paul encourages everyone in the church to throw their energy into the doing gospel ministry together as the Spirit enables.

One of our philosophies of ministry at Seven Mile Road is that that we can accomplish more and better gospel work together than we can apart. We are big on team ministry! In this episode, we talk about some essentials of forming and leading a healthy ministry team.

In this episode, we mine the start of Philippians 4 where Jesus' Apostle Paul implores two of his sisters and co-laborers, who were in a big fight (Seriously! Holy people committed to the mission of God through the local church sometimes experience conflict.), to work for gospel resolution.

Conflict is normative. To be Christians living in community is not to never experience conflict, but to energetically work by faith to resolve conflict in a holy, loving, gospel-centered way. In this session we talk about resolving conflict as it arises in the making of disciples and leading of gospel communities and teams.

In this episode, we walk through the text of John 4 and Jesus' conversation with the Women at the Well, noting especially how he moves toward her in love, values her, addresses her sin, and calls her to Himself. We also articulate some principles for missional living among the women Jesus has sent us to.

One of the many beautiful scandals about Jesus of Nazareth was that he earned the cutting nickname “friend of sinners.” Happily for us, the slander was apt. The fact that Christ came to seek and save grimy, unlovable, lost sinners, and not moral, likable, highly-functional people is central to the good news of the gospel, and so it should be central to our identity and practice. Yet strangely, as John Stott put it, “there has always been a strong tendency for Christians to withdraw into a kind of closed, evangelical, monastic community.” So in this episode, we talk about what it looks like to give ourselves to missional living, especially in a sinful, secular context where the people we are sent to generally respond to the gospel with either disinterest or disdain.

In this episode, we model for you how to lead a gospel conversation through the words of I Peter 3 where we read some of the Spirit's clearest words on how a woman who embraces her femininity by faith can be a force for advancing the gospel and for showing off the glory that God has written into womanhood.

In this episode, we model for you how to lead a gospel conversation through the words of Acts 18 where we see our three-fold vision of gospel-centrality + femininity + ministry on clear and compelling display in the life of Priscilla as she comes alongside her husband Aquilla in loving young Apollos.

In this episode, we talk about both our conviction in employing the words of Scripture in the making of disciples and the mechanics for how we lead gospel conversations that help women to understand, believe, and live the text.

In this episode, we walk through the text of 2 Samuel 7 as a case study in gospel fluency. We'll mine the depth of David's sin (fruit to root), the content and trajectory of Nathan's correction, and the nature of David's response, all while connecting this story with our practice of humbly and directly leading our women to own and repent of their sin.

In this episode, we talk about leading well on the fourth night of Kalos Track where we go after fostering gospel fluency in the hearts and minds of our women.

What would the panorama of a godly, feminine life look like? Proverbs 31 gives us the beautiful answer. Written by a mom for her son as counsel for the type of women he should be seeking as a wife, this acrostic poem casts a vision for the focus, tenor, fruit, and ground of the kind of life the Father calls his daughters to.

In this episode, we are interviewed by Bethany Barendregt of the Women Encouraged podcast in Canada on how to train and mobilize women to making disciples in the life of the church.

The Spirit unfolds for us His intended curriculum for the teaching/training of women in the church, and it's not what any American would expect. In this episode, we talk through the text of Titus 2 and the inspired sequence of believing gospel + embracing femininity + doing ministry.

In this episode, we walk through how to lead the first overnight where we begin to fuse Kalos' three core realities: believing the gospel, embracing our femininity, and doing ministry. We hit on everything you need for a strong 24 hours laying the groundwork upon which everything else in the track (and the work of disciple-making!) is built on.