The Gospel of Gordon Bombay: Leadership That Restores

Aug 18, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: When Leadership Feels Like a Millstone

Gordon Bombay carried Coach Riley’s words like chains – the weight of conditional approval and spiritual manipulation. Jesus reserved his fiercest warning for those who harm “little ones,” comparing their fate to drowning with a millstone. Bad leadership doesn’t just disappoint; it distorts God’s character, leaving people believing He’s perpetually disappointed. The scars of spiritual abuse run deep because they weaponize divine love into a transaction. Yet Christ’s anger at such harm reveals how fiercely He values the wounded. [11:58]

“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea.” (Mark 9:42, NIV)

Reflection: What broken message about God’s character might you still carry from past hurts? How does Jesus’ anger at spiritual abuse affirm your worth?

Day 2: Thick Socks Won’t Mold the Skate

Hans didn’t fix Gordon’s hockey skills—he restored his joy. Like a teacher giving students space to vent before problem-solving, healthy leadership prioritizes presence over performance. Jesus modeled this by feeding crowds before sermons, healing bodies before addressing sin. Restorative leadership isn’t about quick fixes but creating environments where people rediscover their God-given design. It’s thin socks letting heat shape the skate: uncomfortable vulnerability that leads to true transformation. [21:00]

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart… Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31, NIV)

Reflection: When have you prioritized someone’s usefulness over their humanity? How can you create space for raw honesty in your relationships today?

Day 3: Goalie Pads Made of Minivan Seats

Duct-taped equipment and secondhand gear didn’t diminish young Eddie’s hockey dreams—he played with what he had. Our value, like street hockey pads, isn’t about appearances but whose image we bear. Genesis says we’re crafted in God’s likeness; James warns that cursing others insults their Creator. Every person—the arrogant coach, the DUI lawyer, the “cake eater” rival—carries divine fingerprints. Seeing this transforms rivals into teammates. [26:47]

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27, NIV)

Reflection: Who feels hardest to love as God’s image-bearer? What duct-taped part of your story helps you see others’ inherent worth?

Day 4: The Invitation for Cake Eaters

Adam Banks didn’t earn his spot on the Ducks—he belonged by address. Jesus’ table flips hierarchies: the persecuted pray for persecutors, enemies get invited, outsiders become family. This isn’t tolerance but active incorporation, recognizing that the “hotshot” and the “misfit” both reflect God’s multifaceted nature. Like Gordon choosing Banks, we’re called to expand our team until the portrait of Christ’s body shocks the world. [30:31]

“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness… this should not be.” (James 3:9-10, NIV)

Reflection: Who does your inner “Coach Riley” want excluded? How does their inclusion complete God’s portrait?

Day 5: Brushstrokes in a Duck-Flying Formation

A single brushstroke can’t capture the Sistine Chapel. The Ducks’ victory required the enforcer, the goalie, the girl—and the rival. Church isn’t a highlight reel of perfect believers but a mosaic of redeemed image-bearers. When we dismiss others, we erase part of God’s self-portrait. But together, our jagged edges and clashing colors reveal a King who dies for traitors, partiers, and Pharisees alike. This is the “flying V” of grace. [33:40]

“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1, NIV)

Reflection: What part of God’s character do you struggle to reflect alone? Who helps you see that aspect of Him more clearly?

Sermon Summary

The story of Gordon Bombay starts with hockey as almost a religion. Hockey is the thing he loves as a kid, the thing that gets him out on the ice, the thing that feels like joy. But Coach Riley takes that joy and turns it into pressure, shame, and performance. “If you miss this shot, you’re not just letting me down, you’re letting your whole team down too” becomes the kind of line that stays in a person’s bones.

Coach Riley represents bad leadership. Bad leadership takes a little nugget of truth and packages it with abuse. Bad leadership makes people feel small, keeps people on the hook, and teaches them that their value comes from winning, producing, showing up, or not disappointing the leader. In the church, that kind of leadership is even more dangerous because spiritual leaders represent Jesus to people. If a person gets hurt by someone representing Jesus, that wound often becomes tangled up with Jesus himself.

Jesus does not take that lightly. Mark 9 says it would be better for someone to have a millstone tied around the neck and be thrown into the sea than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. Church hurt and spiritual abuse are real. Spiritual abuse distorts the image of God and makes people feel like God is always angry, always demanding, always waiting for failure.

Hans represents the other way. Hans is gentle, patient, and kind. Hans cares more about Gordon healing than Gordon winning. Healthy leadership looks restorative because Jesus is restorative. Jesus heals, feeds, listens, calls people out, and brings creation back toward what it was meant to be.

The command to love a neighbor “as yourself” assumes a healthy kind of self love. That does not mean sinners do not need a Savior. It means every person has value because every person is made in the image and likeness of God. Value does not come from scoring goals, volunteering enough hours, showing up every Sunday, or putting up big numbers. Value comes from the Creator.

The Mighty Ducks become a picture of the open invitation of Jesus. Adam Banks starts as the enemy, the “cake eater,” the Hawk. But when he belongs in District 5, Gordon invites him onto the team. Christianity, when it is done right, is as inclusive as it gets because the call to follow Jesus is open to everybody. Together, people reflect more of the image of God who made them. One person is one brushstroke, but a fuller team shows more of the brilliance of the invisible God. Ducks fly together.

Key Takeaways

1. Bad leadership distorts God’s face. Coach Riley’s words show how a leader can use pressure, guilt, and tiny little jabs to make a person feel small. In the church, that damage goes deeper because the wound gets connected to the God the leader claims to represent. Spiritual abuse does not just hurt feelings, it can twist a person’s picture of God into someone angry, demanding, and waiting for failure. [12:39]
2. Jesus takes church hurt seriously. Mark 9 does not treat wounded people like they should “just get over it.” Jesus gives a terrifying warning because leadership that crushes little ones is not a small mistake. The church should not minimize abuse, excuse bad leaders, or rush victims past the hard work of healing. [11:33]
3. Healthy leadership restores broken people. Hans does not try to squeeze better stats out of Gordon. Hans speaks life, makes room for healing, and helps Gordon remember the joy that got buried under shame. Leadership that looks like Jesus does not use people as tools, it restores people as image bearers. [22:11]
4. Value comes from the Creator. Genesis says mankind is made in God’s image, and James says that truth should change the way human beings speak to each other. A person’s worth is not built on goals scored, Sundays attended, money given, or volunteer hours logged. The image of God is already there before any performance starts. [25:27]
5. The team is open to enemies. Adam Banks enters as the rival, the kid nobody wants, but the invitation still reaches him. The call to follow Jesus is not reserved for people who already fit, agree, or feel easy to love. The people who seem most unlike the church may carry a piece of God’s glory that the church has been missing.

## [30:09]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:26] - Mighty Ducks Gear and Hockey Roots
[02:23] - Homemade Goalie Pads in Hazelwood
[04:20] - The Gospel of Gordon Bombay
[05:40] - Two Leaders in Gordon’s Life
[07:53] - Coach Riley’s Damaging Leadership
[11:33] - Jesus Warns Bad Leaders
[12:39] - Spiritual Abuse Distorts God
[18:41] - Hans and Restorative Leadership
[22:11] - Jesus Restores What Is Broken
[23:36] - Loving Neighbor as Yourself
[25:27] - Made in God’s Image
[28:48] - Adam Banks and the Open Invitation
[32:32] - Together Reflecting God’s Image
[35:18] - Communion as One Team

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Mark 9:42
“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea.” [11:33]

Mark 12:30-31
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” [23:36]

Genesis 1:26-27
“Then God said, 'Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” [25:27]

James 3:9-10
“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.” [25:27]

Observation questions

In Mark 9:42, what warning does Jesus give to people who cause “little ones” to stumble?
What are some of the specific ways harmful leadership makes a person feel small, pressured, or ashamed? [09:20]
According to Mark 12:30-31, what two commands does Jesus call the greatest?
In Genesis 1:26-27 and James 3:9-10, what truths are stated about human beings, and how do those truths connect to the way people speak to one another? [26:17]

Interpretation questions

Why does Jesus use such severe language in Mark 9:42 when talking about causing little ones to stumble? What does that show about how seriously he takes spiritual harm? [14:35]
If people are told over and over that their value comes from performance, service, or not disappointing authority, how might that shape the way they begin to see God? [12:39]
Mark 12 says to love a neighbor “as yourself.” What does a healthy kind of self-love look like for a Christian, and how is that different from pride or self-centeredness? [24:40]
If every person is made in God’s image, what does that mean for the way the church should view outsiders, rivals, or even enemies? [30:09]

Application questions

Has there been a time when leadership in a church, workplace, team, or family made God feel more angry, demanding, or hard to trust? What effect did that have, and what would healing begin to look like now? [12:05]
Words can bring life or death. In this season, who is most shaped by this group member’s words at home, at work, or in church? What kind of fruit are those words producing? [18:00]
Value comes from being made in the image of God, not from performance. Where is someone in the group most tempted to earn worth right now—through success, serving, attendance, giving, or being useful? [25:15]
Loving a neighbor as oneself assumes a person is not treating himself or herself like garbage. What is one practical way someone in the group could receive God’s view of their worth this week? [24:26]
Healthy leadership restores broken people instead of using them. Where might someone in the group have a chance to lead more like that this week—in parenting, friendship, ministry, work, or conflict? [22:11]
The invitation of Jesus is open even to people who feel hard to welcome. Who tends to feel like “the enemy” or “the outsider” in this group member’s world, and what might it look like to make room for them without pretending differences do not exist? [30:12]
Together, people reflect more of God’s image than they do alone. Is there any kind of person this group member tends to keep at a distance? What might be missed about God’s beauty by keeping that distance in place? [32:38]

Sermon Clips

49s

#YouAreWorthyBecauseGod

“``You are worthy of being loved because you were created in the image and likeness of God. We are designed intentionally according to scripture, and healthy leaders remind people of the value that God has already given them. You don't have to work. You don't have to score goals, you don't have to put up big numbers on a score sheet or volunteer or show up every Sunday for your value. That's right. Your value comes from Jesus Christ. Your value comes because you were made in the image and likeness of God the Father and that he loved you enough to put you here. That is where your value comes from.”

71s

#SeeGodInEveryone

“Healthy leaders can speak life into people by showing them that their value is real. And something that I wanna pull from this James passage, if every person from every walk of life and every religion, every race is created in the image of God, Then if one person has value, all people have value. That means we can't be racist. That means we can't be homophobic. That means we can't hate another religion. The person that you think of when I say your enemy, you can't hate them. As a matter of fact, Jesus teaches us to pray for those who persecute us. Love your enemies. Understanding that we ourselves have value because we carry God's image means that when we look at other people, we also see God's image in them. Every person, again, from every walk of life has value.”

40s

#JesusIsRestoration

“Restorative practices are something that I think are crucially important for leadership. And if we think about it, let's move it away from from school. Let's look at Jesus. Everything about Jesus was restorative. His whole mission was to restore creation to himself. Everything that he wanted to do, he healed people, he fed people, he took care of people, he listened to people, he called people out. Everything was to restore things back to balance to the way that they were intended to be. That is the story of Jesus in a nutshell.”

61s

#ChristianityIsInclusive

“The call to follow Jesus, it's an open invitation to everyone, even our enemies. The people who we dislike the most, they get to follow Jesus too. And they get to become a part of the team and experience the championship with us. That is what is so beautiful to me about Christianity when it's done right. It is as inclusive as it gets. Forget about what you see on TV, please. Forget about what's on the news. Forget about what's on social media. Real Christianity that understands the nature of Jesus Christ and why we're created is an open invitation to everybody.”

71s

#TogetherReflectGod

“See, we find our value in Jesus, and we see Jesus in other people. And that leads us to our one thing for today. Together, we reflect more of the image of God who made us. Together, we do that. See, on our own, we're just one of the painting. We're one brushstroke. On our own, we're fragmented. On our own, we can show shades of the brilliance of God, but we can't show the whole thing. But as we start to bring new people in, as we start to invite more people onto our team, as we tell people that this is an open invitation, We get to see the glory of an invisible God and a clearer image of the creator because we get more brushstrokes, we get more pieces of that brilliance.”

45s

#UnityRevealsGod

“But that can only happen together. That can only happen when we set aside the differences, when we stop abusing each other, when we stop fighting, when we stop listening and buying into what social media tells us, when we stop listening to the news every day, when we stop listening to the Coach Riley's of the world. I wanna see a clear image of Jesus Christ. I want to see the most brilliant image of God that I can possibly see. And if we tell one group of people that they can't be here with us, we miss out on that part of God's glory and God's magnificence.”

41s

#BadLeadershipHurts

“And we see this in the church. Bad leadership coupled with a counterfeit version of Jesus, leave us empty and without value. think we've all dealt with bad leadership, whether it's at a job, in a church, wherever. Everyone has dealt with a bad leader at some point in time. Bad leadership does damage. I could tell you from my own family how much bad leadership does damage, and I can promise you that bad leadership will change the trajectory of somebody's life, especially in the church.”

43s

#ChooseLifeNotDeath

“We have turned Christianity into an exclusive group. And so, at some point in time, we all have to ask ourselves, what kind of fruit do we produce? Do we produce rotten fruit that makes people sick, that pushes people further away from Jesus Christ? Or do we produce fruit that gives people life and changes people? When I look in the mirror, I have to constantly ask myself, what kind of person do I want to be today? Do I wanna speak life into the people around me, or do I wanna speak death into the people around me?”

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