When you don't exemplify what you proclaim, you must fervently promote your ideals hypocritically, for who you are shall work against you far better than any promotional piddle you can put forth.
When you exemplify all that you hold dear, you need not promote your ideals. Who you are does that for you, and far better than any other promotion that you might put forth.
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DISCUSSION
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A Brother Comments: If you don’t know Freemasonry exists, by definition you can’t join it.
Coach: I see that you're trying to justify promotion of the Craft. I can understand the appeal and the rational. Let's take a look at what you shared.
Coach: I see that you're trying to justify promotion of the Craft. I can understand the appeal and the rational. Let's take a look at what you shared.
Your comment is stated as an absolute truth... when your "if" is a "when" and other conditions do not exist.
However, this absolute only applies to potential members who do not know about the organization and who have no contact with members whatsoever.
However, this absolute only applies to potential members who do not know about the organization and who have no contact with members whatsoever.
Hence, your absolute does not apply to the original post's intent:
MEMBERS are on display for others to observe and it is through this open display that members inform those non-members that they encounter of what the organizational influences do for improving members.
We know that each potential member who is engaged in social intercourse typically encounter our members as they experience life. Although they may have no clue that Freemasonry exists, they do encounter members who do. And that is the original post's point. These members are either attractive to non-members by their masonic characteristics or they are not.
In other words, each member is on display so that future members, if attracted to the masonic character on display, will approach them and ask how that member got to be the man they are.
So, although future members might be unaware of Freemasonry, they ARE aware of current members and who these future members want to associate with and be like.
Brother: If Freemasonry wants to go strictly by word of mouth (“In order to be one, know one.”) sociologically it will be difficult to get any diversity which we need.
Coach: Once again, your statement is an absolute truth... when your "if" is a "when" and other conditions do not exist.
However, Freemasonry is an organization and hence cannot want for anything. Lodges are already manifestations of diverse individuals coming together for common purposes.
As for as sociological aspects are concerned, and any perceived need by those pushing/wanting/driving diversity:
Coach: Once again, your statement is an absolute truth... when your "if" is a "when" and other conditions do not exist.
However, Freemasonry is an organization and hence cannot want for anything. Lodges are already manifestations of diverse individuals coming together for common purposes.
As for as sociological aspects are concerned, and any perceived need by those pushing/wanting/driving diversity:
When any specific Lodge wants further diversity, as in, more diversity than what they currently have, they must become the very diverse membership base by which they want to attract others. Which means that the members themselves will have to venture into areas-behavior-practices-etc. that they have yet to engage in and to make that diversity part of their Lodge workings before they will attract the like. Otherwise, who and what they want to attract will not be attracted.
It's not rocket surgery. It's common sense. It is also the Law of Attraction - Like-Attracts-Like. And it doesn't have to be pushed, promoted, or shoved by any of the members for it to occur for all the right reasons and in all the right ways.
Brother: The fraternity is better off if we cast a wider net.
Coach: Says who? Who is defining the terms here? What is the casting trying to capture? I have yet to see any Grand Lodge actually define the term "better", much less even suggest the royal "we" be casting nets to capture souls. Lodges are by definition a group of individuals who come together for purposes of common interests, goals, and work - when work and funding is there to support it. One can cast wide nets, but the filter of the Lodge will always limit membership to those who can best work and best agree.
Brother: Keeping us handcuffed to the Old Ways has us teetering on extinction.
Coach: Your generalization is not founded in reality. "Us" has never been handcuffed and our current dwindling membership base is proof of this. What is driving us toward extinction is not going back to old ways that actually worked. Our collective New Ways, that most US Lodges have evolved toward, do not work.
What are these New Ways?
And this list of New Ways is just scratching the surface.
1) OBSESSING on getting new members
2) CENTRALIZING all Lodge efforts toward supporting physical SINGLE PURPOSE buildings and surrounding properties
3) IGNORING those who joined to become better men
4) GUILTING inactive members into getting active, and then when attending, OFFERING them nothing that has any substance worthy of their re-engagement
5) IGNORING actually practicing Masonry
6) AVOIDING true member support, bonding, or nurturing
2) CENTRALIZING all Lodge efforts toward supporting physical SINGLE PURPOSE buildings and surrounding properties
3) IGNORING those who joined to become better men
4) GUILTING inactive members into getting active, and then when attending, OFFERING them nothing that has any substance worthy of their re-engagement
5) IGNORING actually practicing Masonry
6) AVOIDING true member support, bonding, or nurturing
7) PROMOTING Freemasonry rather than ATTRACTING men to Masonry
And this list of New Ways is just scratching the surface.
Please compare this previous New Ways short list with the Old Ways which have all been left behind over the last hundred or so years of Craft "evolution":
* Building issues having to do with assuring the building is a self-supporting multi-purpose structure that funds itself through rental space all while providing meeting space for Lodge activities with no hassles that interfere with Lodge activities.
re: Evolution demands change even small case-by-case change.
Yes, and are we actually talking about further evolution and piecemeal changes here? What we have currently evolved into is not attractive enough to attract and keep members on its own. AND THAT IS THE WHOLE POINT OF THE ORIGINAL POSTED COMMENTS! Our numbers don't lie. Promotion will only increase the numbers pouring through our now well-established revolving door that, by design, only increases members of our alumni association.
re: Not absolutist resistance to change.
Change can be good, when it is the right change, for the right reasons, rightly enacted, and rightly supported.
Promotion of an organization that can't keep its members coming back (due to all these NEW WAYS) is likened to pouring more water into a sieve to keep more drops. You'll only get more splashing by your increased efforts, but that increase isn't going to hold more water; the sieve is not designed to!
1) ASSURING our current members are taken care of first and foremost
2) DELEGATING ALL Building issues* to an outside agency and ASSURING Line Officers are not distracted by Building Issues in any way so they can focus on Masonry
3) FOSTERING those who joined to become better men
4) OFFERING attending members substance worthy of their engagement
5) PRACTICING & DISCUSSING Masonry
6) PROVIDING true member support, bonding, or nurturing
2) DELEGATING ALL Building issues* to an outside agency and ASSURING Line Officers are not distracted by Building Issues in any way so they can focus on Masonry
3) FOSTERING those who joined to become better men
4) OFFERING attending members substance worthy of their engagement
5) PRACTICING & DISCUSSING Masonry
6) PROVIDING true member support, bonding, or nurturing
7) SUPPORTING Masonry and Masonic Improvement inside and outside of the Lodge meetings
* Building issues having to do with assuring the building is a self-supporting multi-purpose structure that funds itself through rental space all while providing meeting space for Lodge activities with no hassles that interfere with Lodge activities.
re: Evolution demands change even small case-by-case change.
Yes, and are we actually talking about further evolution and piecemeal changes here? What we have currently evolved into is not attractive enough to attract and keep members on its own. AND THAT IS THE WHOLE POINT OF THE ORIGINAL POSTED COMMENTS! Our numbers don't lie. Promotion will only increase the numbers pouring through our now well-established revolving door that, by design, only increases members of our alumni association.
re: Not absolutist resistance to change.
Change can be good, when it is the right change, for the right reasons, rightly enacted, and rightly supported.
Promotion of an organization that can't keep its members coming back (due to all these NEW WAYS) is likened to pouring more water into a sieve to keep more drops. You'll only get more splashing by your increased efforts, but that increase isn't going to hold more water; the sieve is not designed to!
And, as the organization is designed currently, it is not designed to hold the long-term interest of members.
re: Few thoughts
Good ones too! Thanks!
BTW - I do see some room for promotion in the form of public awareness. But beyond that, things get gnarly real fast due to what is implied in typical promotional actions, especially when current business practices sabotage what we already have.
re: Few thoughts
Good ones too! Thanks!
BTW - I do see some room for promotion in the form of public awareness. But beyond that, things get gnarly real fast due to what is implied in typical promotional actions, especially when current business practices sabotage what we already have.
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