What Is the Bottom Line?

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Seated at the end of the conference table, I was mesmerized by the much older man with the booming voice at the far end, just to the right of the chairman.

It was the monthly meeting of the hospital board of trustees. I was the token Methodist Pastor invited to serve on the board, and did so for five interesting years. l had been invited to serve by a doctor friend. At the time, I was the long time Senior Pastor of an old prestigious Methodist Church in the east end of the city.

The one thing that really caught my attention about the much older, very dignified gentleman, was his frequent response during the board's discussion. At the end of a heated question and answer period among some of the trustee who were also some of the cities leading physicians, attorneys and business men, turning his head and looking directly into the eyes of the board chairman and the hospital financial officer, he would ask: "But what is the bottom line"?

If the older board member asked that question once in the course of a meeting, he would ask it five or six times. "But what is the bottom line"? I assume by asking that question, he was really asking is the hospital paying its bills on time? Does it have money in the bank? Are its premises being kept up to date? Is old equipment being replaced by new and more modern equipment? Are older staff happy and congenial, and keeping up with newer means of patient care? Are young and new staff being recruited to replace retirees and such? Is the hospital master plan up to date and being actively pursued? Finally, I think this gentleman was concerned about the hospital's public image. Was it presenting a good and hopeful face to the community at large as a place for patient care and healing?

I just sat there dumbfounded. I thought to myself, what an interesting individual with the courage to unashamedly speak up and speak out on what bugged him the most, the bottom line. I further thought, I have just got to meet that gentleman and get to know him personally: where he grew up and how he has spent his business career over the years.

A day or so later I picked up the phone at the church and phoned the man with the booming voice, introduced myself, mentioning that I was also a member of the hospital board of trustees, and asked if we could meet sometime and get better acquainted. He readily agreed inviting me to his plus condominium in the east end of the city. Following meaningless chit chat that day, I finally got around to asking him where he was born and where had he grown up, further inquiring about his business background and experience.

To my amazement, he said that he was born in Muhlenberg County, the same county in which I had spent my boyhood. More specifically, he said his childhood home was in the now nonexistent little crossroads community of Paradise on the banks of the Green River, some ten miles east of Greenville, the county seat. Paradise, formerly known as Stom's Landing, was once a trading post and later was settled by Scottish miners brought over from Scotland to mine iron ore, of which his family were such immigrants.

My host went on to say that during the First World War he left home, went to Detroit and got a job working for Cadillac. Much later he moved to St. Louis, got a job in a bank, and much, much later rose to become vice president of one of our nation's leading federal banking institutions. Needless to say I was highly impressed.

Following our lengthy and informative conversation that day, I thanked my host for his warm hospitality, turned and walked out of his residence thinking to myself that hospital board member has every right to ask, "But what is the bottom line"? He knew from which he spoke. His humble background and vast experience provided him insight into the operation of a major public service that few are privilege to know and experience.

As we face the New Year, asking the question "but what is the bottom line" is not a worthless or foolish question to ask of ourselves. The bottom line has everything to do with who we are, where we have been, and where in the future do we hope to be and do.

Thank you Mr. M. for the delightful visit. And thank you for sharing your wisdom with this token Methodist pastor. Think about it: what is the bottom line?

The Rev. Billy Cox of Louisville, Ky., is a retired United Methodist clergyman and former military chaplain.