IGNITE OUR PASSIONS

We as masons are taught to subdue our passions and improve ourselves in masonry....while this has its own unique meaning I suggest that what we need to do "ignite our passions and improve masonry".

As a volunteer organization everyone chooses their personal level of participation. Many join and fade away only to be dropped for NPD a few years later. While becoming an officer is not for everyone, those that choose to do so must realize that when they become Master they are the guiding force for their lodge for a year. It is easy for complacency to set in as anything beyond complacency takes effort. We all have lives that are very busy and time is a precious commodity, it is easy to kick your masonic duties to the curb.

As with all organizations leadership is the key and passionate leadership ignites the fire of others, which in turn encourages them to invite others. Members need to feel excited about what is happening in their lodge or feel what is happening is worth while and more importantly worth their time. So I say to you up and coming Masters, ignite your passion and make your year worthy of the rank you have achieved.

THE TWO DEGREES OF MASONRY

I often work with a traveling degree team that performs the Master Mason Degree. In my years working with the team I noticed that we keep going to the same lodges over and over. While I understand many lodges have reached the point where they no longer have the man power to perform this degree or have not built back up to such a level I also feel many lodges simply don't try. It becomes all too easy to have a degree team come in or to farm candidates out to other lodges. One of these most frequented lodges has brought in many new candidates in the past few years and has developed a officer line. As we all know, if you don't perform a degree, you don't learn it. Therefore all they are doing by constantly using a degree team is developing an officer line that only knows the first two degrees.

There are strong lodges and weak lodges in every district and it is not uncommon for neighboring lodges to assist eachother. I think it is far more useful for a lodge to bring in the help needed to perform the degree than to outsource it.

PURPLE AMOUNG US

Now that most lodges have their new officers installed it is time to get down to business again. Which of course means performing degree work for this years candidates. Along with this of course comes the visit by the purple people. I remember when I was a junior officer this was a big deal and I remember how everyone got so nervous about it. Now as "veteran" officer I realize it is really nothing at all but a formality that is required once a year by the Grand Lodge. I am also willing to bet that the DD will be more nervous about doing the inspection than the lodge will be about doing the degree. Our Grand Lodge is now pushing for that on inspection nights, all officers should be in their installed positions and that work should be performed by members of that lodge only, no outside help. While I realize that lodges should be graded by the work that they perform and not by some outside ringers brought in that night, I also see the other side of this.

What gets lost in all of this is that the degrees are all about the candidates and if the degrees are done much better with outside help so be it. Why should Grand Lodge prove their point at the expense of the candidates, most lodges know where they stand on the quality of their degree work and often take steps to make up for their inadequacies by moving officers around and supplementing with outside help.

I would like to take this one step further and I will propose this to our district that at the end of the inspection period that the scores given to each lodge should be presented at the Blue Lodge Council. Are we not grown men ? Did not most of us go to college and see our grades posted ? There is no greater motivator than peer pressure. How would you like to be the lodge in your district with the lowest score ? Perhaps it is time for a merger if you always are. And you can bet the strong lodges would work hard for the perfect score.

STARDATE12252008

Having always been an avid Star Trek fan I was watching the movie Generations last night. While it was not one of my favorites there was scene that particularly caught my attention. Kirk and Picard were talking and Kirk told Picard not give up the Captains seat, not for promotion, new opportunities, etc. He said because in that seat you can make difference. I am not by any means saying that Masters should hold on to the East, what I am saying is that Masters should realize they can make a difference. Too often brothers get to the East and count the days until they are out of office. The year or years in office should be cherished and enjoyed and you should finish your term proud of your name being counted among the select few.


My views on lodge leadership have morphed during my time in the officer line. I used to be so proud of my home lodge having a progressive line with no Past Masters and Masters served one year and were done. While still am a strong advocate of the progressive line I no longer view have a few Past Masters in the line if necessary as a bad thing as long as they don't get locked into a position which deters the development of new officers. My philosophy on the officer line is now the same as that of becoming a member; becoming an officer should be an act of their own fee will and accord. Too often lodges in desperation beg new brothers to join the officer line many of whom are not ready to be there, don't belong there or don't really wish to be there. I have seen the effects of these and now conclude that it is better to fill holes in the line with PM's than to try to force square pegs in round holes.

A NEW BEGINNING

Last week I was installed as Master of my affiliate lodge and even though I just finished being Master of my home lodge for two years I am truly excited about this new opportunity to serve the craft. Being Master is a honor and a position of great responsibility, our fraternity is set up so that Master determines the level of activity of the lodge; hence to set the craft to work and give them good and wholesome instructions for their labors.

Each lodge has its own characteristics and customs. my affiliate lodge is much different than my home lodge and I am trying to take the best of both worlds as I prepare for the upcoming year. They have a full progressive line from JW on down and all the chairs are filled with brothers ready to do the work. This has not been seen in this lodge for many, many years. My main goal will be to continue to build the membership and to keep the new members engaged. We have a very busy year ahead of us as one of our members will be installed as Grand Master in March.

I was fortunate to have the Past Master who served my home lodge the year before me affiliate as well and will serve as SW this year. We are both solid ritualists and will be able to set the example for the junior officers. He however has no interest in serving as Master so I will be in the East for two years. I am confident that if the lodge continues along its current course in two years they will be one of the strongest lodges in the district and my work will have been well worth the effort.

Then I will be looking for my next new beginning..........

Masonic Management 101

Both the local and state lodges are set up as progressive lines in that, in a fully functional lodge, you start at the bottom of the line and progress one chair each year. In the local lodges that means you serve six years before you are Master and then one year and done. As much as you anticipate your "year" it is hard to learn the new position and accomplish much in that short period of time. Most of the time the Master simply survives his year everyone pats him on the back and its time for the next Master.

Although this system has worked for hundreds of years you have to ask; does it really ? Would you expect your favorite sports team to change Managers every year and get good results ? Does GE change CEO's every year ? Do we change Presidents every year ? You get the point, it often takes time to establish a direction therefore continuity is important.

Lodges often have a hard time filling the chairs and are willing to put any one in regardless of whether they will do a good job or not and often allow them to progress upward without doing the necessary work. It has come to the point where Masters now need to be certified to open and close, a basic duty because we allowed so many non-functional Masters to progress that the Grand Lodge said enough. Often brothers fly through the line, two or three years and bam they are Master another reason for poorly prepared leaders.

I have served as Master for two years since one of our officers dropped out and we did not want to throw a Past Master in the hole. I started out at the bottom and served in every chair and did all the duties, rituals associated with each chair. I have enjoyed my second year much more since I knew what to expect and could
focus on what I wanted to get done. During my year as Senior Warden I affiliated with a neighboring lodge and I will now head to the East there next year.

So I will be a recycle officer which if you asked me five years ago I would of said it was bad. I was proud of our lodge having a progressive line with no Past Masters in the line. At this point I am more convinced that the weak lodges need good leadership regardless of the source. While the need to develop new leaders is essential, we should be careful to select brothers who truly want to do the work. The rule of thumb should be the same as when one joins a lodge; becoming an officer should be of their own free will and accord.

BACK UP AND RUNNING

The first month of the masonic fall season is now almost over and the batteries are recharged. Two CHIP programs, a major construction project, a degree and a Blue Lodge council, busy, busy month but that is what gets the old fires burning. I now have five meetings as Master before I head off to my affiliate lodge and serve there. I had the pleasure of serving for two years as Master of my home lodge and I feel my term was very successful. We will have raised twenty two new brothers and did some major construction projects around the lodge. The construction projects showed me that there are some great leaders coming through the line behind me so I am confident that the lodge will continue to be a leader in our district.

My affiliate lodge continues to make progress as the new young officers continue to develop. There s much work ahead of us but slow steady progress shall prevail.