A Brother Asks: Losing EAs

A Brother Asks: What do you feel contributes the most to a new candidate not continuing his Masonic journey after receiving his EA?

Coach:  Simply put, the most contributing factor is "disenchantment". 

Brother: What contributes to this disenchantment? 

Coach: Several things. Let's put aside the obvious balls being dropped by the Lodge itself* and discuss the typical things that candidates should not ever be exposed to. 

Brother: Okay.  Let's get into it.

Coach: Sure. Candidates become disenchanted and quickly lose interest when...

1. ...what is offered is not what they originally wanted or joined for. 
2. ...they expected totally different activities involving personal growth and not just memorizing things that are not understood, explained or well-justified by those doing the training.
3. ...the social interactions, offerings and opportunities are not what they want to engage in.
4. ...they are disinterested in or turned off by who is involved.
5. ...they were needlessly embarrassed by the immaturity of too many schoolboy antics put forth under the guise of "fraternity" and "brotherhood".
6. ...training and indoctrination is continually offered masquerading as education, mentoring and/or coaching.
7. ...their other interests compel them to discontinue.
8. ...abrasive personalities and biasing that reflects intolerance are ever present.
9. ...too much organizational support stuff and no true personal development is the lodge's focus.
10. ...they realize all too soon that those running the machine don't know that they are running a machine or that they are not truly initiating anyone.

Unless something else is keeping the interest of these disenchanted candidates, they soon pull the plug and vote with their feet.

Brother: How do you change any of this? 

Coach: Great question!  Here are a few things to consider:

1. Before they petition, find out what they want from the organization and what they want to join for. 
2. Make sure those members who are doing the memorization training understand it, can explain and justify it well, and can do so in such a way that it has absolute relevance to the personal and professional growth of the candidate.
3. Before they petition, make sure that the lodge social interactions, offerings and opportunities are what they want to engage in.
4. Before they petition, make sure they are interested in and not turned off by who is involved within the lodge.
5. Make sure they were not needlessly embarrassed by any schoolboy antics put forth under the guise of "fraternity" and "brotherhood".
6. Make sure training and indoctrination is not masquerading as education, mentoring and/or coaching.
7. Before they petition, make sure they have time to allocate toward lodge activities they would be interested in.
8. Make sure any abrasive personalities and biasing that reflects intolerance are eliminated from the lodge before they even approach the lodge to petition.
9. Make sure they don't get pulled into too many organizational support activities and are provided support for the personal development activities pointed toward by ritual.
10. Make sure the lodge is not so busy running the machine that they forget they have a paying customer who deserves to be treated as an authentic initiate and apprentice to the Craft.

Each and every one of these items contributes towards Candidates getting their needs met and each supports them receiving what initiates should be receiving from an organization that professes to make good men better.

F&S,

Bro. John S Nagy
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*and this does occur when the lodge either does not have a process in place to keep candidates fully engaged in their progression or the individuals in charge do not follow through on what they should be following through on should there actually be a process to follow.