Eureka, I've done it! (Fin)

This could be a sign.

I've successfully created a place that I have been committed to for years, and once leaving it for a while it seems that everyone can live without it, including me.

So, barring unexpected inspiration, this creative chapter, Betanarrative, is closing. I've considered a new blog, ministerially focused specifically on worship, but there are so many of those I don't want to be redundant. If something does happen, I'll post a link.

Thanks to all my readers, friends, readers who have become friends, friends who have become readers, and readers who are not yet friends.

I'm now going to spend the next few weeks reading over the past few years, laughing at how hilarious I think I am, unashamedly.

Keep testing the story,

Dan

Airport

The place no one wants to be.

Adam told me that once. I think it's true. Either you haven't left for where you want to be, you're waiting in a city you have no business being in otherwise, or you're waiting for someone to take you to your final destination. No one wants to be at the airport. Even still, you shouldn't complain.

Today I partook in the miracle of human flight. I'm spending Christmas as I do every year with my family in Orlando! It's always good. Right now I'm waiting in the place no one wants to be for my sister to arrive from Boston, then we'll go home together. Sweet!

My Wi-Fi thing on my MacBook is called "AirPort." I imagined what would happen right now if I clicked "AirPort Off"...

An update. Or, getting out of a rut.

No, how have you been?

I'd say the last few weeks have been busy, but it's just not true. Well, I had one busy week, but that ended. Classes are over for the quarter. I start again with a one-week intensive beginning Jan. 5-8, that's a Wednesday through Saturday, I believe. Pre-marital and marital counseling! I figure I know enough college students that I could likely be a marrying pastor at some point. Of course, I'm not ordained, licensed or otherwise officially qualified. Ah well. It should be a good class.

I'm in a dating relationship for the first time in a long, long time. That's definitely new and something I'm getting used to. It's been good so far! She took me to see Wicked in Chicago for my Christmas gift, 5th row center. It was incredible! I recommend finding someone to date who will take you to see it, if at all possible.

My car has been awesome. Also, my sarcasm. I need new brake drums, and other things.

My latest musical project has been the chorus riff from Eric Johnson's "Cliffs of Dover". It's tough, for sure, but if I add enough effects, it almost sounds like I'm playing guitar!

Other than that, lots of frozen pizza, and a trip home soon to see the family.

What's your update?

Venn Diagram Seeking Title

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Types of Worship Leaders

What type are you?

I've been working on tomorrow's worship set for church for the better part of the week. It's been difficult. It usually is for different reasons. This time I can't seem to get straight what I want to say, how I want transitions to go, etc. It's all the stuff people don't really notice, but they don't notice because hours of prep go into it. You never notice when things go smoothly, but if I bumble through a few messy sentences you'll think, "He didn't really prepare this week, did he?"

As I was trying to figure out how to explain Advent, I thought, "Maybe I need to talk less and pray more." It seemed simple enough, and it gave me a sense of peace. I then started thinking about my leading style when it comes to worship, and I think there are several categories that leaders default to.

Teacher Leader - This type of leader likes to give small theological bits that help connect what they're doing with why they're doing it. Chances are you'll learn something new each time this person leads, whether you want to or not. Well, unless you already know what they're saying. But someone will likely learn something new.

Tour Guide Leader - This leader tells you how you're getting from point A to point F by mapping the way. "Today we're singing about God's grace, so we'll start with 'Your Grace is Enough,' because... and as our confession, 'Mercy and Grace' reminds us that even though we have God's grace, we still need it..." and so on. This type of worship leader seldom leaves the congregation feeling lost, but they may overdo the talking.

Praying Leader - This leader doesn't say much at all. They pray between songs, during songs, etc. Some are expert pray-ers, some stumble through but don't know what else to do. They're more comfortable talking with God than to the congregation, so they use that as their transitional medium.

Prophetic Leader - These at times seem more in heaven than on earth because of their heightened intuition of the Holy Spirit. They listen more than speak, and sometimes seem like they're off in the distance instead of on the platform; but when they come back, they normally have a powerful word to share.

Praising Leader - This leader is hyped up about God and wants you to be, too! They're excited about who God is and what God is doing, and their main goal is to bring you along.

Confessing/Weeping Leader - Every time this person leads, you wonder what horrible sin they committed before leading worship. They live in Psalm 51 crying out, "My sin is ever before me!" They argue with Paul that they are, in fact, the chief of sinners, not him. If you don't leave feeling guilty of something, you must've shown up right before the sermon.

Silent Leader - Most of these are untrained. I've experience mostly high schoolers in this realm. They stand in front, start a song, play it through (normally as written), finish the song, pause in awkward silence as they shuffle their music, start the next song, and repeat until the set is over. These leaders are usually willing to be coached, which is fantastic.

Overly-zealous Transitioning Leader - This leader makes transitions, but it's way too obvious to feel authentic. "I was talking to one of my buddies from work about religion, and he was like, 'What's different about your god?' and you know what I said? 'Our God / Is an awesome God! / He reigns...'" You know it when you hear it. Props for trying. The heart is there.

Narrative Leader - This leader will take one story or theme and work their way through it. For example, they may take a Psalm and attach songs to different verses, making it all the way through in a fresh way. Or perhaps they'll take a story like Jesus walking on water and convey different emotions and actions in the story as one set (fear, mystery, confidence, trust, etc.).

Which of these have you experienced?

Which types did I miss?

Do you find any are your favorite?

If you lead, what's your default? What could you try?

All other related thoughts are welcome.

Advent is Coming

Thanksgiving is over.

The shopping season is upon us. I want to get my haircut today, but I hate going out on busy days, period. It's not that far, so I'll probably go. And since I'm in a wedding tonight, I really should.

This Sunday, after Black Friday, is the first of the season of Advent. What is Advent? The word means "coming." In the Christian tradition it's the four Sundays before Christmas that anticipate the birth of Jesus. Emotionally speaking, it's the season of longing. The Church looks backward, at the present and toward the future, longing for something not yet fully realized.

We look back at the time before the Messiah, before Jesus was born. People were waiting for God's anointed, for a savior. For someone who would take them out of their situation.

We look around longing for the same thing, because though Christ has come, we see not all things have been set right.

We look forward, longing for the day when Christ will come again, when all things will come to completion. This is the joyful hope we endure.

Theologians refer to this time as the "already, but not yet." Christ has begun the work, but it's not done yet. We live in this tension of God's manifest presence and God's seeming absence.

My role as a worship leader is to take these ideas and communicate them through songs, prayers and the liturgy. It's proving difficult. I haven't figured this weekend out yet. I suppose I'm still waiting.

If I had to pick a favorite season, I'd pick Advent. It makes me aware of how much help we need. It uncovers humanitarian pride and screams, "We can't do this alone!" And with ancient saints I pray the same: "Maranatha."

Come, Lord.

Churches: Unleash Your Musicians

I'll never own a dog.

It was a brisk morning. Katie, my beige Corolla, kept me company as we headed off to church. I was greeted along the way by familiar red and green lights, intersections and passers-by. "More leaves have fallen since last week," I thought in pre-determined prose.

Squirrel!

I saw it, too. But I wasn't the one who wanted to catch it. A black lab, appropriately dressed for the season, reacted instinctively to the small woodland (suburban?) creature racing near it. The dog leapt forward! He took a few majestically grand steps toward his goal. Quickly paced, he lunged, only to be sharply drawn back by a thin cord attached to a man in a jogging suit. Just as quickly as it had begun, the chase was over. The squirrel mocked the dog, and the master and slave continued on their scheduled route. The man wished his dog would be more tame. And the dog wondered why he felt so unfulfilled.

I've played in church or para-church bands for 13 years, almost half my life. (A moment of silence for feeling a little old today... Thank you.) One of the greatest challenges I have experienced for the musician in church is how to not become the "church musician." In days past the church musician would be the slow moving organist with the too-long breaks between each verse of whatever anthem the congregation would moan that morning. Today's church musician is typically younger and looks flashier. But there's a good chance that musician has been musically emasculated, regardless of gender. There is no life or vigor in the artist; just a chord-strumming shell who can barely hear his small contribution through the monitor.

Great musicians don't like to play in church for just that reason. Why would they take something they're so passionate about into the church if it won't be appreciated? In Old Testament terms, musicians see consistently easy music as an unacceptable offering to God. Por ejemplo: A fantastic musician coming in and playing I V vi IV in four keys for as many songs isn't bringing her spotless, unblemished lamb. She's bringing what's lying around the farm as her sacrifice of praise. The worst part is, she'd love to bring the best, but the culture shuts her down.

There's nothing wrong with those simple songs, and a musician should have enough humility and willingness to play them, but if that artist is never allowed to actually play, it'll kill that musician's spirit.

So, how does a church unleash it's musicians? How can they be free to find their purpose, especially in God's house? How do they balance between performance art and worship, where the objects of attention are very different?

I have my thoughts, but I'll hold off. What are yours?

Suburban Life: When blessings become liabilities.

I have a love/hate relationship with suburban life.

First, love. I'm fond of having my own place to live, with my own room. I enjoy the comfort of my car, even with all the repairs. I find comfort in feeling safe in my neighborhood. More than almost all the other things, I love showers. Hot showers. Showers that almost burn my skin, but don't. I've heard glorious tales of showers from friends on mission trips, and even a hilarious song which held the refrain, "Take a bath in a bucket / I like it! / And so will you." Honestly, I don't think I'd like a bath in a bucket. I like a shower in a shower. So, there's a sampling of my loves of the suburbs.

The past year has given me new eyes. Upward mobility is an interesting thing. The American Dream is to give to your children better than you had for yourself. I think for the Baby Boomers, this dream was realized like never before. After WWII, things seemed to climb for the better, for a while. More education, housing, jobs and more were available to more people. My parents took advantage of the years. My dad was Air Force and retired early. My parents worked hard, and I had a pretty great upbringing.

Like I said, my parents worked hard. This past year that finally translated for me: My parents worked hard, so I didn't have to. I know they told me to work hard, and taught me to work hard as best they could, but it never really sunk in. I'm clearing them of any responsibility for how I ended up, which for a while has been generally lazy.

There is good news. This past year, I realized I lean toward laziness. Really, I always knew that. This year, I named it. I never learned how to work hard, to fight for anything, to struggle against all odds in order to have victory. I lived a privileged childhood. I rarely tried my hardest in school. Sports weren't going great, so I passed on those. I worked hard at music, but it also came pretty naturally to me. Does that count?

I've mentioned in the past that I've taken on many projects. Most of those are going well, or have already happened, or have been put off until further notice. But overall, things are going well. About a month ago I slowed my roll because I had been putting tons of effort into everything, and I was just tired. I've slowed down enough, though. It's time to step back into things, working hard.

From what I hear, our generation is the first in a long time, if not ever, that doesn't assume we'll have it better than our parents. Financially speaking. We see the economic system is problematic, but we're not sure what to do about it, and not sure anyone can do anything about it.

Even still, there's hope. Our generation is also incredibly service-minded, and globally oriented. We care about people, family, community, global agendas, and more. We realize that everything isn't about us. So, if we have a harder life so someone else can have a better life, we're up for that. At least a little bit. I have yet to sell all my possessions and give them to the poor, and I'm not sure I ever will.

It's tempting to confuse an easy life with a better life. I guess the lesson I've learned is that a good life is a life that's been earned. Working for things helps me enjoy them more, and take pride in them. I didn't appreciate my education as much when I wasn't paying for it. Now I am, and I do. And I can appreciate the work my parents did all along the way.

Now it's time to do my part, to work hard and earn a better life.

How do I know if it's gossip?

What is gossip anyway?

I have trouble anymore telling the difference between gossip and news. Stories on the news often have little to do with news, and more to do with people. Some shows bypass news altogether, just to talk about people, especially the things that no one should care about. (i.e. TMZ, where for 6 minutes they hemmed and hawed over a celebrity not wearing shoes in a public bathroom. Gross? Yes. Worthy of air time? Not at all. And they're all so arrogant about it. Rah.)

Last week I was surprised and made ill by ESPN. The sports "news" was about which athletes were dating who, and more about their personal lives than their game. (Well, I guess it was still about their game...) I figured if they keep that up, they should change their name to E!SPN.

Over the past week I've had a few conversations with Christian college students about drama between people, and it turns out the root of much of it is the gossip people share. The thing is, I don't think anyone thinks it's gossip. After these chats, I think it's important to lay out a few guidelines for consideration. This isn't a definitive list, but I think it's a good start. Feel free to argue, challenge, or add your own!

1. Is it about you or your conversation partner?

Some people love talking about themselves. The good thing about that is they're never gossiping. If you're talking about yourself, it's likely not gossip.

2. Is it about someone else?

If your conversation is centered around a person who is not in the conversation, that could be gossip. The fastest way gossip happens in this situation is the conversation starts about the people talking, then spins off to a side-story about another person involved. Then the conversation becomes about that person's affairs. If you're all friends, or if it's good things, it might be fine. Even still, this is a good place to watch for yellow flags.

3. Would the person it's about want you sharing that information?

If you're absolutely sure that person wouldn't mind you sharing, then it's probably okay. Like, when my best friend got an amazing job, I don't think it bothered him when I'd tell my other friends. I was excited for him, it was positive, and even though I wasn't involved, I think the subject matter was beneficial to the hearer. If you're not sure, you should either not say it, or at the very least, ask if that person would mind you sharing with others. If it's negative or embarrassing, let the person involved decide whether to share or not.

4. Would you say it to the person/people it's about?

If you have trouble bringing it up to the person, then it's likely gossip. If you can't say it to the person, or if you'd have to rephrase it in order to say it to the person, then you should check yourself. If you wouldn't want your words to get back to that person, then you shouldn't say them.

5. Is it true? Is it nice? Is it necessary?

I can't remember who laid this out for me, but I find it to be an easy, quick check on whether you should continue speaking about someone.

Is the thing you're saying verified as true? A lot of pain can be avoided by avoiding non-truths.

Is it nice? Is there any mean-spiritedness, spite, agenda, or anything negative behind it? Does it lift the person up, take a "neutral" stance, or make them look bad? If it makes them look good, it's probably okay. If not, think twice.

Is it necessary? If you're not sure whether to say it, consider the need for it to be said. If you're not sure, then you can probably keep it quiet.

6. Do you need an intervention?

Some situations require bringing in a third party. If you see someone in a bad situation, and you know you're not the person to help them, getting someone else involved can be okay. You should give just the necessary information to make the connection happen. Hopefully the person you're bringing in will help you know how much info they need.

Have any good/bad experiences in this area?

Any tips?

Share!

More Than A Death Call

Living above a funeral home has its surprises.

2:15 A.M. I'm startled from my slumber by a ringing phone. Judging by the stark black, it's well into the night, not yet time for the receptionist or director to have made their way to work.

Most days I bring a cordless into the room. Four guys who sleep deeply should have as many phones as possible in this business. Each late night call carries its own significant weight, and it's a responsibility we can't afford to drop. I almost always have a phone. Today, I forgot.

I leapt from bed, taking off down the hall. I'm fairly certain I woke at the start of the first ring, which is unusual, but good for the rest of the guys who get to sleep through until morning. I picked up the phone in my usual fashion, "________ Funeral Home, this is Dan."

"Hi, ... Dan Lugo?"

Surprised, "...Yes..."

That was about the last thing I expected to hear on the other end. Turns out the voice on the other side knew me, and knew me right from the start. Most people know I live here, so that didn't shock me; but it was truly unexpected. Thankfully, the voice continued, identifying itself as a friend I see regularly. Though it's not necessarily a close relationship, it is a strong one based on trust and respect.

As you can imagine, this friend had a loved one pass away. And I was the person to field that call. In this once-in-a-lifetime moment, I was the person to pick up.

I've heard my name said hundreds of times before. But never like that. It was a voice of relief, followed by, "I knew you would answer the phone," which sounded like it was coming through up-turned corners of a mouth. For a person in that situation, that says a lot. I was glad to be the one to answer.

One of the funeral directors this morning talked with me about it. He said when he was just three months into directing, he went on a "removal" (the technical term for picking up a body from a house), and it turned out he was an acquaintance of the grandson of the deceased. The grandson was in the apartment when the director came in, and was glad to see him.

The director told me what his mentor had told him: It puts a person at ease to know someone they trust is taking care of their loved one. It's awkward to be on this side of it, but it really is a good thing for them. He told me to imagine being in the situation from the other side, and I found it to be true.

In that moment, when I answered the call, when I heard my name, everything changed. These are no longer "death calls." They are broken hearts calling with stories and hopes and love and families and faces. There aren't bodies to be picked up; they are loved ones on their way to being laid to rest.

Pastorally speaking, I'm glad I could take the call. And I'm glad I'll see that person a couple times this week. I think I'm also the only pastor they know, so if they need someone, at least I know I am someone they trust.

I'll be glad to pick up the phone.