FED UP!

Normally I would not blog about politics...

but I believe the recent marketing ploy by FED-EX to campaign against recent labor legislation is at best misleading and at worst downright dishonest. UPS is an airline and a trucking bussiness, just like FED EX. Please use your voice to help level the playing field.

This website (brought to you by FED EX) totally changes how I feel about a competitor I once respected. Cheap shots and telling lies is the wrong way to get bussiness.

Subversive Narrative... at work.

Working at UPS under the direction of a certain district manager has it's challenges. In fact, alot of days it just sucks the life right out of me. Other days it just sucks. But honestly the benefits and the signed piece of paper every Friday morning are reason enough to drive into the city every morning at an hour when sane people are all sleeping. We have a stairway from our office to our work area.

Above it someone put up a homemade motivational poster... it says

NO INJURIES,

NO SERVICE FAILURES,

100% ON TIME DEPARTURES,

NOTHING BUT EXCELLENCE.

Ok that someone was me. This simple act of positive vandalism has been a real morale booster. Myself and my partners tap it on our way out like its some kind of "Remember the Titans" esque lucky charm. We are unsure how long it will stay up. Heres to one full day!

Mothballed

UPS airlines recently announced they would be mothballing all of their DC - 8's. For those unfamilliar with the term they will be putting them out of service as a cost cutting measure. Will these "oldies but goodies" return to service. Who knows. UPS was already the last airline to really have a decent "fleet" of these. While they seem to "get the job done" they are expensive and more and more they seem like dated relics. Makes we wonder is there are things in the church, ministry tools per say, that need to be mothballed? maybe permanently? or just for a season? hmmm... interesting. Any thoughts out there?

Another One Bites the Dust

DHL is cutting $9,500 jobs and ending its Domestic Air Service.

This should just about bankrupt their main vendors ABXAIR and ASTAR. (Did you see Circuit Center filed for bankruptcy today?)

The DHL thing severely minimizes the proposed deal of UPS handling DHL's air volume, and puts a bunch of volume up for grabs between UPS and Fed Ex. Should be interesting to see what happens. For now I'm glad I got the call from Brown and the thin rejection letter for DHL. I think I'm done reading the news. It's depressing.

Morality

This week I killed a gopher (with my kids watching), stole a vacum belt from Wal-Mart, and watched the movie "Flightplan". The movie is probably not worth your time, but when it was over, I thought, "all that for only $50,000". The bad guys do what they do (trying not to be a spoiler here) motivated by $50 Grand. It just seemed like not much money for all the planning, personal sacrifice, and killing of others.

I remember when I worked for Brown. Some of my co-workers got fired for eating cherries that fell out of a box. The premise was; "if they'd eat some one else's fruit, what would they do if a diamond ring fell out of a box?" Does anyone besides me think this is a poor premise?

This week I read the story of Rahab (from the book of Joshua in the Hebrew scriptures). She's the harlot that God spares for lying about the spies she hid. SPARED FOR LYING.

So glad there is grace in Jesus. So glad he looks at our hearts. So glad I'm not the judge.

Grace, Authority, & Leadership

What does it mean to be an authoritative leader? Is this a bad thing? What parts of a local church is the pastor "responsible" for? Which form of church government is best? Why is everyone so upset about their pastor being a ceo? Are smaller churches better churches? Are bigger churches better churches? What is the job of an "Assistant Pastor - Youth & Administration"?

As I ponder these questions today, I am reminded of an ol' truth I learned while working in management for Brown. "It's the man who makes the tie, not the tie that makes the man." I am more and more uncomfortable with the idea that "I am the pastor. Do what I say. I am supposed to be in charge!" More and more I think we should be looking to Jesus...IT"S HIS CHURCH! and error on the side of grace, not authority. Any thoughts out there in blog o land?

The tie qoute at UPS is especially powerful because middle management are no longer required to wear ties, yet I think they are still using this quote. Perhaps they should say... "It's the man who makes the tucked in shirt and lack of facial hair below the upper lip, not the tucked in shirt and lack of facial hair below the upper lip, that makes the man." Just doesn't have the same ring does it.