A PLAN FOR ACTION
MORE LIGHT in MASONRY (II)
A PLAN FOR ACTION
by Allen E. Roberts
Why does one Lodge grow and another stand
still? Why is one Lodge active while another
stagnates? Why does one Lodge have an
overflow attendance, and another can't find
enough men to confer a degree?
The reason, Ted Gray determined, was
effective planning. With it there is no limit
to the growth of a Lodge or any organization;
without it there can be but failure.
Why must a Lodge plan? For two reasons:
because it is successful, or because it is
unsuccessful! This sounds like a
contradiction. Actually, it isn't.
If the Lodge is successful, ii must plan to
keep its members from becoming overly
content. Contentment tends to breed
acceptance of things as they are; happy and
comfortable people prefer to stay in the
"rut" they now enjoy. When this is permitted
to take place, the rut can become so deep it
will be difficult to get out of it. If the
Lodge is not successful, effective planning
can reverse the trend away from stagnation.
The first step in effective planning is to
become familiar with all the conditions
affecting the Lodge. This means taking a
hard, cool, and perhaps unpleasant look at
the over-all picture. It means there must be
some deep-down soul-searching. It means
change. It means readjustment. It means we
must face reality. All of which threatens
complacency and apathy.
Ted Gray faced the facts and determined to do something to help Hs Lodge grow.
So, he drove over to Leslie Wilson's home.
"Les, I want to try something that hasn't
been done in our Lodge before," said the
Worshipful Master.
"Why tell me about it, Ted? You know I
haven't been interested in the Lodge for
years."
"That's one reason I'm talking to you, Les. I
know why you haven't done anything for the
Lodge for a long time. You got fed up with
the do-nothing attitude of the officers and
Past Masters. I want that to change, and I
believe you're the man to make it change."
"I'm willing to listen, but I'm making no
promises," said Leslie. "What do you have in
mind?"
"You know Morris Newton even better than I
do. You know that he's aggressive and
intelligent. What you may not know is that he
has petitioned our Lodge. I want him to get
started on the right foot. I don't want to
make just another member of him. I want him
to become a Master Mason in every sense of
the word."
Leslie grinned. "You must have been reading
some of the stuff I've been writing. You're
using some of my terminology."
"Now you know another reason I've come to
you," laughed the Worshipful Master. "Yep.
I've been reading your stuff, as you call it.
I've learned that you have too much to offer
Freemasonry to let it slip away. With a man
like you in our Lodge, we'd be nuts not to
use you."
"I just might be willing to be used. Keep
talking."
"You know more about this Order than I'll
ever know. It's your knowledge about Masonry
that I want to tap. And we'll start with
Morris Newton and see what happens."
What the Worshipful Master wanted to do is
not new. It is as old as time itself. He
wanted to use the man-to-man, or mouth-to-ear
approach to teach a man what Freemasonry is
all about. This Master had learned that there
can be no dedication without education.
After Ted had left Leslie, he called Morris
Newton. He asked Morris when it would be
convenient to visit his home and talk with
him and Mrs. Newton. At the appointed hour
Leslie and Ted arrived at the Newtons.
After the preliminary greetings were out of
the way, Ted said, "We have dropped by to let
you ask any questions either of you may have
concerning this step you are about to take.
We want to take the mystery about Freemasonry
out of your minds. I'm sure you've heard that
Masonry is a secret organization, because
that's what too many people think. It isn't a
secret organization. We do have a couple of
secrets, however. If we didn't, there would
be no way to know whether or not a man had
actually been made a Mason."
"May I ask a question?" asked Mrs. Newton.
"We wish you would," said the Master. "That's
the reason we asked Morris to select a time
that would be convenient to you both."
"I've heard that once a man gets into
Masonry, he puts that first, above his home,
his family, and his church," said Mrs.
Newton. "If that's true, I would rather not
have Morris in it.
Ted nodded to Leslie who told her, "If that
happened to be the truth, I wouldn't blame
you. Actually, Masonry's teachings should
prevent that from happening. No Master Mason
can be true to the lessons taught in the
Lodge and not be a better husband, father,
and churchman. Now, you will note that I
didn't say Christian, because a man doesn't
have to be a Christian to be a Mason, but he
does have to believe in God. Freemasonry has
just one purpose-to make good men better men.
That means better in his home, his work, his
religion. Better in every respect."
"That sounds interesting," said Morris, "but
I know one or two Masons who aren't too
ethical in their business dealings. How do
you account for that?"
"Unfortunately," replied Ted, "not all Masons
are good men. Not all of them live up to the
teachings of the Order. Perhaps that's
because we've been negligent and haven't
passed along to them what we should have. We
haven't taught them what they ought to know.
Actually, that's why we're here. We want to
correct some of the errors of the past. We
want to start you in the right direction."
Leslie added, "We should make it clear that
not all good men are Masons. Then, too, some
men who have entered Freemasonry wouldn't
have, if they'd known what Freemasonry
actually is before they petitioned. That's
another reason we are here. We want you to
know what Freemasonry is and is not. Then, if
you still want to become one of us, the
chances are excellent that you will make an
exceptional Mason."
"I don't know about the `exceptional' part,
but the rest makes sense," said Morris, and
his wife nodded her agreement.
For the next two hours the Newtons asked
questions and were told more than any
petitioner of. the Lodge had ever been told
before. They learned that the principles of
Freemasonry taught today had withstood the
test of time; the Fraternity was over two
hundred years old. That, while it has its
social moments, it is a way of life that a
man can philosophically follow. Its moral
codes, its teachings, its tenets, its
philosophies put brotherhood into action
wherever they are practiced.
Morris Newton was convinced that he wanted to
be a Mason. Ted and Leslie were convinced
that Morris Newton would make an excellent
Master Mason. It was now up to them to make
certain that the lessons he would be taught
would make a lasting and favorable impression
on his mind.
Ted stopped his car in front of Leslie's
home. They were silent for a few moments;
then Ted said, "Les, I want you to head up a
team for me. I want this team to be a far
reaching one, one that will lead the way
toward improving every area of our Lodge.
This will include the ritual, Masonic
education in every sense of the word,
improvements to our building, our furniture,
our paraphernalia. To put it shortly and
bluntly, I want your team to make immediate
plans, short-range plans, and plans for five,
ten, and twenty-five years from now."
Leslie looked at Ted as though one of them
was crazy. Ted grinned, "Sounds like a big
order, doesn't it? But with your background
in management and Masonry, I've no doubt that
you can do this, and more."
"Thanks, I think. But let me get a couple of
things straight. First, I note you said you
want me to head up a team. Don't you mean
committee?"
"Absolutely not!" said Ted emphatically. "I
used to think committees were the thing, but
my experience with them hasn't been good. I
find that committees tend to get nothing
done. One man, the chairman, ends up making
all the plans and doing all the work. I don't
want that. I want participation. The more men
we have thinking and working, the better the
results will be."
Leslie nodded his head slowly. "I hadn't
thought about committees in that light. But I
see what you mean. However, one team isn't
going to be able to accomplish all that you
have outlined. It's going to take several to
do the job."
"That's right, but I want you to coordinate
the action. Get the best men you can find on
the several teams. One caution, though. Don't
select men who think alike. We don't want a
bunch of `yes men'. We want men who think for
themselves, men who will give us the action
we need."
After consulting potential leaders in
different areas, it was determined that the
leadership of the Lodge should take the time
necessary to:
Define the problem, or problems:
It might be poor ritual; poor attendance;
poor programs; poor reporting; too little or
no instruction about Masonic activities,
history, philosophy, symbolism, and so on.
Determine the type of training activity or
program needed to solve each problem:
Weekly classes for ritual; personal contact
of the membership; obtaining Masonic
speakers, degree teams, Masonic plays;
special instruction for the Lodge Secretary
by the Grand Secretary.
Determine the training objectives:
Excellent degree and floor work; improved
attendance; providing the membership of
Freemasonry with knowledge of all phases.
Determine the content of the training
programs:
Decide on the methods and techniques to be
used:
Determine the material, supplies, and
equipment needed:
Decide when, where, and how the training will
be done:
Determine how much money the training will
cost, making certain that it is adequate;
then determine how to provide it.
By following this plan of action, without
haste, we can make certain that adequate
consideration is given to every aspect of
what we want to accomplish. We won't be doing
a piecemeal job just to say we are doing
something.
There are many educational, or training,
programs that have been proven successful.
These will be outlined in future Short Talk
Bulletins. One or more may serve your
purposes. And you may find that you ought to
blend two or more together to fulfill your
requirements.
But the first step is to determine what can
be done immediately to correct some of the
errors of the past. Two of the most prevalent
mistakes are poor ritual and the failure to
instruct new members adequately. These can be
corrected quickly.
A candidate's first impression of Freemasonry
is derived from the way he receives his First
Degree. As a rule, every Lodge has some good
ritualists. These should be called together
and a Ritual Team formed. Together they
should determine the best methods to use to
improve the degree work and everything else
concerning the ritual.
When Ted and Leslie called the ritualists of
their Lodge together, the discussion was
enlightening. For years the ritualists had
wanted to do something, but they didn't know
exactly what to do. After a lengthy
discussion they decided to hold weekly
classes of instruction. All the officers and
members would be invited to participate. They
would start out by going over the catechisms
(lectures) of the three degrees. Each man
would ask a question and another would answer
it in rotation. Following this, the officers
would practice opening and closing the Lodge,
then work in one of the three degrees. Others
would get special instruction in the various
lectures and other ritualistic work. They
would also invite the Grand Lecturer to work
with them so that they would learn the ritual
correctly.
Two of the three steps necessary to
communicate Light in Masonry to a new member
had been established by the Worshipful
Master. The candidate would receive the First
Degree in Masonry in a proficient manner. The
importance of these steps cannot be
overlooked. First impressions are too often
lasting impressions. Psychologists claim that
a man's adult life is often determined by the
first six or seven years of his childhood. It
is, therefore, not too much to believe that
the first minutes of a man's Masonic life
will determine his future progress in
Masonry.
The third important step is the assignment of
a coach, or mentor, to work with the
candidate through every step of his journey
into the mainstream of Freemasonry. This
mentor must be a knowledgeable Mason. He must
know the meaning behind the ritual and have a
thorough background in the various facets of
Freemasonry. This will mean special training
programs. A man must first learn before he
can teach.
Where a mentor program (called by differing
names such as Big Brother and Intender) has
been actively used, there have been good
results. The mentor becomes the Masonic
father of the candidate. He attends the
meetings of the Lodge with the new Mason
while he is advancing. He takes him to visit
other Lodges. He is with him during social
functions and in Masonic study groups. Where
there are Masonic conferences that the
candidate can attend, the mentor is with him.
Freemasonry is an organization of
individuals. Every individual is different.
Each has his likes and dislikes. Each has
some talent that no other person can
duplicate. A mentor plan recognizes this
fact. And an individual works with an
individual.
So, a training program for mentors - Masonic
teachers - is a must. It should be set up
using the outlines suggested in this essay
and those in the first of the series. Future
Bulletins in this series will cover this
program in more detail. Such a program will
take time and knowledge to develop, but the
results will pay dividends for many years to
come.
Two of the first three necessary steps,
however, can be taken immediately. The first,
indoctrination of the petitioner, requires a
background of Freemasonry. Enough of this
knowledge can be acquired quickly* so that
the petitioner and his family can be told
what Freemasonry is all about. This will
assure the Lodge that it will be receiving
into its ranks a man who truly wants to
become a Master Mason.
The second step, excellent ritualistic work,
can become a reality by following the plan
developed by the Ritualistic Team in this
article.
More Light in Masonry; who needs it? All of
us. How can it be acquired? Through effective
planning.
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