All men need this episode. Buckle up, because Juan and Mombo Galloway are about to blow up everything you thought you knew about men and women working together in ministry—and they're having way too much fun doing it. In this episode, they tackle what they call "the biggest blind spot in Christian leadership worldwide" with the enthusiasm of detectives solving a 2,000-year-old mystery.
Ever wondered why your church leadership looks like a boys' club, but mission workers are 75% women? The Galloways have some thoughts. They take you on a wild historical tour from ancient Greek philosopher Plato (who apparently thought women were Zeus's revenge on mankind) to Roman goddesses with serious attitude problems, showing how these decidedly non-Christian ideas somehow snuck into church thinking.
Prepare for mind-blown moments like:
The great "women should be silent" plot twist involving mysterious Greek symbols and quotation marks. Was it really Paul speaking or something more sinister?
Why the world's largest church only exploded after a brilliant cultural hack involving Lauren Cunningham's mom.
There were female ministers throughout the Bible; in fact, Lydia, Chloe, Nympha, Priscilla, Mary of Jerusalem, and more were all pastors, or at the very least, the main leaders of the churches they led. Shocking!
The hilarious "flip the script" exercise—imagine if 99% of pastors were women and men could only serve donuts–bizarre and wrong. Now flip it again. Is it still wrong?
How Amy Semple McPherson basically invented Christian radio and accidentally evangelized China from California.
Mombo shares cringe-worthy stories of being asked if she "ministers to women or children" after 30 years of preaching. Juan admits to the blind spots that even well-meaning guys don't realize they have that derail women from their calling in the process. They dig into the historical Greek text, unpack cultural context, but more than that, they show how some words like "Helper" more accurately mean "Minister" in the original language. Juan and Mombo reveal why that verse about women not having authority over a men, “might not mean what you think it means,” as Inigo Montoya says in The Princess Bride. It turns out that the 1 Timothy 2 verse is addressed to one woman and two men, not all women for all time.
This isn't your typical dry theology lesson—it's more like having coffee with your funniest, most knowledgeable friends who happen to have read 40+ books on this topic, so you don't have to. They promise to tackle all of the confusing passages about women in the Bible, but fair warning: you might never look at church leadership the same way again.
Side effects may include: sudden clarity about biblical interpretation, uncontrollable urges to champion women leaders, and the realization that God's original plan was way more egalitarian or mutualist than your Sunday school teacher let on. Don't chicken out. Wipe the spit and mud into your eyes as you listen, so Jesus can heal your blind spots and set all men and women free!
RESOURCES
Though we have read over 30+ books on what we think is the biggest blind spot in Christian leadership today on both sides of the conversation, here is a taste of a few of our favorites. We don't necessarily agree with every word in these books, but it’s a great place to start growing in wisdom in this important area that affects all men and women everywhere.
1. Mombo’s Blog: www.momboism.blogspot.com 2. Why Not Women? A fresh look at scripture on women in missions, ministry & leadership By Cunningham, Hamilton & Rogers 3. The Truth Sets Women Free by Grady 4. The Bible Vs. Biblical Womanhood - by Payne 5. How God Sees Women by Williams Gallowaysonmission.com YWAMResources.com
Juan and Mombo Galloway kick things off by sharing their wildly different origin stories that somehow led to the same place. Juan's family literally went from living in a castle with 13 Porsches to becoming missionaries in the Caribbean. Meanwhile, Mombo went from knowing absolutely nothing about Christianity at 13 to somehow becoming the chaplain for a Golden Glove boxing team because she decided to actually listen when God told her to do something completely unhinged.
This episode dives into the two things that separate leaders who last from those who flame out spectacularly: actually hearing God's voice (harder than it sounds when your brain won't shut up) and building team cultures where people don't want to quit and move to a different continent.
They get real about practical stuff like their "timer method" for hearing God (yes, they literally set a phone timer like they're making instant ramen), plus lessons from running everything from experimental church plants to New York City's biggest homeless outreach program.
What you'll actually learn:
How to hear God's voice when your thoughts are louder than a TikTok audio
Why toxic team culture will tank your mission faster than anything else
The difference between actually caring about your team versus just using them to get stuff done
When to extend grace versus when someone needs to go touch grass somewhere else
Why being innovative isn't just about looking cool but actually reaching people
How to learn from epic fails without spiraling into existential crisis mode
The conversation includes stories from urban ministry, international missions, and organizational leadership that sound too chaotic to be real but somehow are. They wrap up with an "Ask AI" segment that roasts common spiritual leadership mistakes, setting up future episodes where they're apparently going to tackle even more controversial topics.
This episode establishes their whole vibe: brutal honesty about what actually works, practical advice you can use today, and helping leaders navigate both winning and completely face-planting with some semblance of wisdom and mental health intact.