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The Upside Down World, Week 12, Day 5

by David Joynt on November 30, 2017


LUKE 12:45 | MATTHEW 18:6-9


Jesus also warns in this passage about abusive leadership. The manager “began to beat the other servants.” The imprudent manager is not only selfish and neglectful, he is cruel. God cares about His children and is angry when there is any form of abuse or exploitation. Our policies at VPC include screening volunteers and establishing practices to protect children, youth, and adults. Read Matthew 18:6-9 and realize that Jesus is very clear and very tough on leaders.


Have you ever experienced abusive leadership?


Pray for church and community leaders you know entrusted with the care of others.


FAMILY TIME— In our parable, the bad leader is violent. What other ways can leaders be bad?

Tags: leadership

About the Author
David Joynt

Dave Joynt began his service as a pastor at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona in September 2014. This meant a move away from the Northeast, where he has a long history, growing up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and then serving congregations in Delaware and New Jersey for a total of 23 years.

Dave was nurtured in a great church in Bethlehem where his parents, Anne and Carey, served as elders. He graduated in classics from Lehigh University where his Father taught, and then from Oxford, where he met his wife Julia. Ordained in 1988, he completed a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1993.

He and Julia have a son, Tristan, and a daughter, Madeleine.

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