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style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 15px; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Geneva, Helvitica, Arial, sans-serif; COLOR: #0033cc; FONT-SIZE: 16px"><B>The
Three Stories of Easter</B> </SPAN><FONT color=#000000 size=1
face="Verdana, Geneva, Helvitica, Arial, sans-serif"><BR> <BR></FONT><FONT
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style="LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Geneva, Helvitica, Arial, sans-serif; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 14px">Whenever
a bad or traumatic thing happens three stories can be told about the experience.
<BR> <BR><B>The Victim Story.</B><BR>This is the Bad Friday story which
tells all the ugliness of the bad thing that has happened. <BR> <BR><B>The
Survivor Story.</B> <BR>This is the Holy Saturday and Emmaus road story. We
survived the bad thing but life is very different and we have no idea how we
will go on. <BR> <BR><B>The Thriver Story. </B><BR>This is the Easter story
of resurrection. We discover that despite the bad thing that has happened, life
in all its fullness goes on. Things are not just different they are transformed.
Bad Friday becomes Good Friday, the day when the seeds of new life and
possibility were planted and now are yielding the fruit of new life. This is the
Easter message: that there is no place we can get to that is beyond the reach of
God's grace and the possibility of new life. <BR> <BR>Sadly when bad things
happen many people and churches get stuck in endless telling and retelling of
the victim story. Some may discover they have survived, but over the years the
years of struggling to endure takes its toll. Working on having less death will
still get you death. <BR> <BR>Thriving doesn't just happen it needs to be
worked at, first by discovering how God is still here and secondly by joining
with God in what God is doing. As the Easter story tells, God doesn't have a
survival plan. God has a resurrection plan. <BR> <BR>As leaders of the
church one of your primary tasks is to shape and hold your congregation's
narrative. Are you part of and telling a victim story, a survivor story, or are
you co-creating with God and God's people a thriver story?...
<BR> <BR><FONT size=4 face="Times New Roman"><A
href="http://www.clergyleadership.com/training/leader-prog.html">http://www.clergyleadership.com/training/leader-prog.html</A></FONT></SPAN></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT color=#000000 size=2
face="Verdana, Geneva, Helvitica, Arial, sans-serif"><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Geneva, Helvitica, Arial, sans-serif; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 14px"> <BR>Remember
this Easter: <B>Jesus came that we might have life, not less death</B>.
<BR> <BR>With Easter Blessings<BR>Rob Voyle<BR>Director, Clergy Leadership
Institute <BR></DIV></SPAN></FONT></FONT></BODY></HTML>