The Dirty Black Shirt, Part 2

OK, so I've established that I don't want my life to be a dirty black shirt, showing all of my shortcomings and sin for all to see.

But, I DO want my life to be a dirty black shirt.

Huh?

One of the things Jesus was criticized for was the fact that he hung around with tax collectors and sinners. One of the things present-day Christians are criticized for is "being too close to the world."

How do you:

Stay close to God while befriending the world?

Live in and not of the world?

Love the sinner, hate the sin?

I want my heart to be clean, but I also want to be involved in other people's dirt, so that God can use me to help them get rid of their own dirty shirts.

God, let me stay so close to you so that my shirts don't get dirty, but also let me stay so connected with humanity that I'm not afraid to get soiled now and then.

OK, So I'm Back (and hopefully with something to say).

My last post was from this past July 4th. It was about my dad (you can read it for yourself, it's right below this one), and after writing it, I really felt like there was nothing I could really say that would transition out of that post. I really wanted to honor my father.

I love you Dad.

Anyway, my wife and I did our little morning workout (a story in itself, I might add), and it involved a good bit of abs work. Why is this important? Hang on, I'll tell you...

This morning, I wore a black shirt. We have a white dog. Get the picture? After my sweaty body was on the floor, and the workout was finished, I noticed a lot of white dog hair, and other sundry floor items, on my shirt. It completely grossed me out.

But then, I got to thinking, "I'm no dirtier than when I wear a white shirt. It's just that the black shirt shows it up in more contrast."

And that's when this thought occurred to me: We can go through life not noticing (or not examining, or not paying attention to) our dirtiness, but then, something (or someone) comes along and it gets clearly pointed out to us.

You know, the issue that pushes you over the edge, the person that seems to have grace in every situation (and you really admire them for it), the Bible verse that pricks us as we read it, the Holy Spirit gently bidding us on to change. These are all ways God tries to speak to us, to show us our sinfulness, providing a way out, to be clean again.

God, I don't want to be a dirty shirt. Please make me clean again.

Stay tuned for more. While typing this, I had another "dirty black shirt" analogy thought.

Back to My Other Job...

Yeah, you read that right.  Our department has a recording studio that we hire out for external clients.  I've been working on a CD for the past few months, and today, we're working on some clean-up, and maybe vocals.

Monday is my day off, but I use it for the external client thing, so that I can legally and ethically charge my own fee.

Which brings me to my point:  double-dipping. I've seen a whole lot of this in ministry. Guys doing outside work on ministry gear, and charging the client their own fee, all while on company time.

I see nothing wrong in making the extra money with the church's gear, as long as the senior pastor approves it, but it's the other part I have the problem with:  making the extra money while at your regular job. When I perform duties for an outside client. I MAKE SURE that I'm not on the Crossroads clock (I'm salaried, btw). I was not hired to make my own side money while supposedly being there for Crossroads Church.

On the other hand, I've also seen the situation where a church's media department cannot perform outside work on their own. It has to be performed as part of their duties for their department, and the church makes all the money. I'm too much of a capitalist to agree to work at a place like that.

Anyway, that's my soapbox for today. Do you know of guys who do this? Do YOU do this? What's your policy regarding outside client stuff?