The glory days are behind us, and not even a miracle will return us to the nineteen fifties and nineteen sixties when many Lodges held special meetings in order to accommodate hoards of new initiates. “Why would a man want to become a Mason today?” is today’s question.
Forty years ago, there were very good reasons for joining the Fraternity. Being a Mason brought a man prestige in the community. It set him apart from the crowd. It marked him as a member of an elite group and along with membership came respect. This has all changed. A Grand Master talked to two U.S. Senators about becoming Masons. Both of them turned him down.
What’s that popular view of Freemasonry? People think we’re dead, dying, or worse yet, irrelevant. There was a time when being a Mason put a man in touch with the right people. In many communities, the Masonic Lodge was the key to rubbing shoulders with the decision-makers, the movers and the shakers, and the business and civic leaders. Everyone who was anyone was a Mason. Only in rare instances is this true today.
Forty years ago, being a Mason made a difference in a man’s career. We all remember the so called “Masonic companies,” firms that were filled with Masons from bottom to top. If you wanted to get ahead, you became a Mason. The same was true if you were a local insurance agent or real estate broker, a barber or a butcher. Being a Mason made you a member of a vital network in the community.
That’s how your business grew and prospered. In other words, there were power incentives for a man to become a Mason. Masonry conferred upon its members, status, prestige and influence. This is not the way it is today. Our sons and their friends are not impressed with Masonry. They just don’t get it!
In spite of the dramatic and far-reaching change in Masonry’s status in American society, there is no reason to despair. Masonry still fits the times, notwithstanding the fact that we have been horribly negligent in communicating the message. As much as in any other period of its history, Freemasonry has a powerful role to play. Here are a few examples:
Today there is public recognition that traditional values make a difference. Having “discarded” the importance of basic ethics for the past thirty - five years, there appears to be a return to the bedrock beliefs that made this country great – the family, loyalty, hard work, honor and integrity, the basic and essential virtues.
In his book, “More like Us,” James Fallows expressed the issue as clearly as possible: “in the long run, a society’s strength depends on the way ordinary people behave.” Surprise! But this has been the message of Freemasonry for the past three centuries! And it is just as true today as it was 40 or 200 years ago.
In a time when numbers are more important than a man’s name, this is a message that makes sense! No group or organization gives recognition to the worth of a man’s life as does Freemasonry. The Masonic Message is simple: “You are important.”
Masonry makes one idea clear, “As a man, you have tremendous potential and we’re going to show you how to become the best.” Masonry never looks down on a man. Masonry denies that a man is, basically “bad.” Masonry sees the possibilities in a man and gives him a way to reach the stars.
The most incredible fact about being a Mason is that you can never, never forget that you are one. You can forget your wife’s birthday, but you can’t ever forget that you are a Mason. Show me another group that makes such an indelible impact on a mans life? As a Mason, I can never forget that I have a responsibility to live and to conduct my life according to the tenets of Freemasonry. I can never be lost in the crowd.
For a man to say, “I’m a Mason” sets him apart from other men. Why, then, with all that we have to offer is our fraternity slipping into the darkness of obscurity? Why are we not just fading away, but actually disappearing at an ever-increasing rate?
Masonry is not the problem. The problem is not our beliefs or our ideals.
The problem is one of leadership, or more to the point, the lack of leadership at every level. For the past several decades, we have been in the midst of a leadership crisis, and it is killing us!
Take a look at “Masonic leadership.” The major qualification for being a leader in our fraternity is time. If you devote the time, you can get to the top. In the same way, leadership in Masonry is viewed as a “reward for good behavior.” If you do what you are told, attend a thousand meetings, and stay in line (in more than one way), someone will hang a jewel around your neck. We even look upon “going through the chairs” as training. As a matter of fact, it is training of sorts. But what does a man learn?
The one thing that’s important: he learns how to play the game so that by the time he gets to the top he has achieved total ineffectiveness. He is completely useless as a leader.
If we take a closer look at how we behave when it comes to leadership, the picture becomes painfully clear. To put the matter bluntly, we are experts in putting the emphasis in all the wrong places. In other words, we do it backwards.
Masonry is suffering from what might be called, “The Mussolini Syndrome.” His greatest achievement was making the Italian trains run on time. The nation was in total chaos, but the trains left the station on schedule – every time. This is the way we are as Masons. Here are just a few examples.
We meet every deadline. We take pride in such an accomplishment. The fact that no one comes to our dull and boring meetings doesn’t seem to distress us.
No one in the world can hold a candle to us when it comes to record keeping! We are the best! While we are not totally blind to the fact that the statistics are going downhill fast, the accuracy of the figures seems to be more important than their meaning.
Our reports are always in proper form. We take inordinate pride in them. We always use just the right words and no one’s name is ever left out.
The fact that 99% of our reports are totally meaningless doesn’t seem to faze us. We ignore the fact that our reports are all form, totally lacking in meaningful content, and then, we have the audacity to repeat them year after year! Only the names and dates are changed.
Frankly, we are good at ceremonies, very good. We practice and practice. We aim at perfection. In a way, I suppose that’s a noble goal.
What seems to escape us is that there is no one there to see the pageantry. The membership is disappearing and all we are left with are empty Temples. For some reason, this does not seem to disturb us because we just keep repeating the same old ceremonies, all by ourselves.
We are rightfully proud of the way we respect our Masonic property. Certainly, taking care of our buildings is better than allowing them to fall into disrepair, but, once again, we always seem to miss the point. Buildings are for activity, and with some notable exceptions, there is nothing happening of significance in our Temples, 99% of the time. Again, this doesn’t bother us enough to demand action from our leaders.
Take a look at the roster of any Masonic organization and you’d think that with so many men involved, mountains could be moved. Every name is there. All are neatly printed. All are in proper order. Yet, it doesn’t seem to bother us that our committees are little more than empty shells or paper tigers. They lack talent, skill and ability. For the most part, they have no power or authority. They are to do as they are told. For the most part, they are to do nothing.
If we happen to find a man with a talent, we toss a cable-tow around his neck to make sure he doesn’t do anything new or different! Or, as they say in the west, “we hog-tie him.” We only want him to repeat what’s been done the last forty years. With all this in mind, why doesn’t Masonry attract and retain strong, creative leaders – men who are capable of taking our fraternity far into this century? The answer is clear.
We don’t want strong leaders! We don’t want new ideas. We don’t want interesting programs. We don’t want disagreement. We don’t want discussion. We don’t want excitement. We don’t want the boat rocked. Anyone who tries to be “different” by being innovative or creative will have his wings clipped quickly by a group of men with the term “Past” after their names. This is why we have the type of leaders, at-every-level, we do today. Let’s face it. Our leaders clone themselves. They bring in exact duplicates as replacements. Over, and over again it happens, and nothing changes because nothing can change. This is our problem. A competent man with real leadership potential may love Freemasonry, but he is not going to spend his valuable time “doing what he is told,” knocking his head against a brick wall, or going through the motions just to get to the top. Life’s too short for such short-sighted thinking.
The Masonic leadership message is clear: Behave yourself. Put in the time. Don’t rock the boat. Do as you’re told. Keep you mouth shut. If you speak, just echo what the “leader” has just said. Don’t come up with new ideas. Bow, and scrape.
Don’t question anything, and, if you’re a good fellow, you’ll get the Masonic goodies, in other words, we have exactly what we want and what we deserve: a fraternity of petty and pathetic bureaucrats; and it’s killing us. If this is the current leadership situation, what needs to change to meet the challenge of the decade ahead, and beyond? We need leaders with very specific qualities.
More than anything else, we are in desperate need of leadership standards. We need job descriptions for leadership positions. We need to get down on paper what we expect from those who guide us. What are their goals and objectives? What do they want to accomplish while in office? The membership has the right to know what our leaders are thinking. What are their ideas? Are they just carbon copies of those who have gone before them, or do they possess the abilities necessary to move our fraternity forward?
Frankly, we should get down on our knees every day and thank God for our members. No single group of men puts up with more dull nonsense than do the Masons of America! And they keep on paying their dues year after year.
It means to make them proud of their Masonic membership. Leadership means being able to motivate men to action. It means getting Masons to come out of the closet and demonstrate their enthusiasm for the fraternity.
The job today is one of using the media to get Masonry in front of people. If the truth were known, however, we’re scared to death of the media. We seem to think we’re doing something important if we have a booth at the county fair. That’s nothing. We need blimps! If we don’t start thinking big, we’re through.
Now we are dreaming of solving the declining membership problem with “one day classes.” Just watch, they will spread like wildfire. Is this a bold step? Of course not. It’s a gimmick, one that diminishes the value and meaning of Masonry, while attempting to make someone look good by getting the numbers up! Is this leadership?
Where do we want Freemasonry to be in 2010? 2015? How are we going to get there? What must happen to get things moving? How are we going to mobilize Masonic resources so that we make a difference? This is a vision that can put Masonry on the map, where it belongs. If a man doesn’t have this kind of vision, if he does not possess the skills to make things happen, then he should not be elevated to a leadership position. Masonry can once again provide men with status, prestige and influence. That’s possible because the times are right, but it will only happen if we have leaders with courage and conviction. How do we get leaders who can make the difference? Frankly, we need men who are willing and daring. Here’s a simple, but effective guide: “If you have a good idea, go ahead and do it because it is much easier to apologize than it is to ask permission.”
It is time for daring, for affirming our Masonic principles, and it’s time to break free from worshiping the past to the point of ignoring the present so we can begin adoring the future. We’ve looked in the “rear-view” mirror long enough. Would not the Fraternity be better served, if we spent less time worrying about how important we are and devoting more effort to what it will take to save Freemasonry? That’s leadership, and that’s setting the pace. If the Fraternity is to flourish, haven’t we ignored a lack of leadership long enough? Shouldn’t we point a finger at ourselves for applauding those who have confused serving themselves with service to Freemasonry? Doesn’t the time come when we stand up and say, “Freemasonry deserves better!”
Is it possible that we have the leadership we deserve? It’s something to think about.
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