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