Step-Up Conclusion

Remember

Last week I focused on the threefold fullness of health:  grandparent, parent, and child.  I want to conclude our weekly conversation with some comparative analysis, but Before I do that, I want to re-re-refocus briefly on our why. 

This last Sunday was Transfiguration Sunday.  Jesus emerged from that experience with a clear focus.  I suggested that transfiguration is a positive, beautiful transformation.  The express purpose of the church is transformation.  I have written recently:  “Transformation is an intense process and it requires us to stretch. But, a critical element of that transformation, that stretching, has already occurred here:  Hilltop is reaching, stretching, beyond itself.  That is transformation.  Let’s continue that change.  Change like that requires rare people.” 

No Guilt!

I want to share with you a comparative analysis of Anglo United Methodist Churches in Utah that have at least one full-time pastor.  As you look at this, I ask that we read and study in order to understand, rather than to formulate a reply.  I also do not want any guilt to emerge from this conversation.  Ready? 

The next chart shows where Hilltop is ranked if we use per attendee income for 2016 from the congregation as our ranking metric (tool).  We are in last place. 

Congregational Giving per Attendee:  2016

Your church leadership is 100% mindful that Park City is in a different economic base than us.  I suspect SLC Christ is demographically older; see the sixteen deaths, than Hilltop.  I confess, I am surprised at the disparity between Hilltop and the two Ogden churches.  This disparity was true in 2015 as well. 

If our congregational giving on a per attendee basis was at the level of Ogden Community our income would increase by over $220,000.  If we were at the level of Ogden First, it would increase by nearly $80,000.  I find that stunning. 

Again, no guilt, right?  No guilt, please. 

The first question that comes here is “can you explain why?” 

No, I cannot satisfactorily explain why.  I think the answer is composed of many variables all working at the same time.  History, demographics within the congregation to where we have many with youth in college, some proportion of fixed incomes, and a general unwillingness to talk about money because of the dominant culture and its high expectation on financial support of the church.  There are a lot of variables.  But on a compare of like to like, if we add in Mountain Vista in West Jordan to us and the two Ogdens, I suspect our demographics are more alike than we are different, and again, the compare is stunning. 

Three Closing Thoughts

Here are three thoughts that have been mentioned earlier:

• “We are under-incomed, not over-expensed.”  I offer we are not under-led.  Your lay leadership at Hilltop is bold, because our vision is bold. 
• Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of the Bible, The Message offers this glimpse at Luke 12:48b: "Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities!"  We need to respond in a responsible way to the gifts we have been given. 
• We quoted an unnamed black preacher in the February Newsletter:  “God is not a monument, but a movement.”  Methodism was called a movement in our early days.  We can recapture that by focusing on our transformation purpose.  

What is our “bottom-line?”  We need to have our resourcing match our mission and purpose.  We need this in order to transform the world:  Our world. 

Selah, Pastor Dennis