The Masonic Resurgence Podcast: Recent Episodes

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There are five basic causes for the Masonic Membership Crisis.

Problem #1: In many lodges, Freemasonry fails to deliver on what it promises.

We initiate men into Masonry with three ceremonies of high drama. We present him with a treasure chest full of symbolism, and a truckload of philosophical principles and ideals. In effect, we promise that we are going to teach him how to be a better man, and how to better approach life and The Mystery Of It All.

Then we deliver business meetings with all the spiritual content of a phone bill.

Is it any surprise that the typical lodge does not see in attendance, I would guess, even half of the candidates that they initiated, passed, and raised three years ago? Go through your Lodge’s minutes. See whom you initiated three years ago. Who among them attends lodge today?

Problem #2: Masonic education is usually conducted very poorly, if at all.

Lesson topics are picked willy-nilly from a grab bag of Masonic ideas—including ‘Masonic baseball players.’ There is no real objective to the lesson that involves actually developing the lives of the brothers in attendance. Often, that lesson is presented poorly, too.

Today’s man is hungry for spiritual and moral nourishment. Masonic initiation parades an array of principles and symbols before him—but these themes are barely touched upon in many lodges, when they even bother to hold Masonic Education at all. Is it a shock that many brethren leave our lodges, never to return?

Problem #3: Very few men in the general public have an accurate idea about what Freemasonry is and what it stands for.

For the most part, men either don't know that Freemasonry still exists, or they think that you have to be invited, or it’s only for old men, or it’s only some kind of antiquarian society, with no relevance to life in the 21st century.

A wise Mason once asked, “Who would join a Fraternity that he knows nothing about?” I would add, “Who would join a Fraternity that he doesn’t know even exists?” Is it any wonder that our initiations are down?

Problem #4: Some of our candidates simply are not interested in what Freemasonry is really about.

They may think that the Fraternity is simply a way to get ahead in business. Men in this category simply feed the river of demits and NPDs farther down the line.

Problem #5: Anti-Masonry.

Many men who think they know something about Freemasonry believe that it is some kind of conspiracy against the world. Millions of men even believe that Masons are devil-worshipping front-men for the Illuminati, serving the shape-shifting reptilian space aliens that seek to enslave humanity. Go on YouTube, search the term “Freemasonry,” and half of what comes up will be an ocean of anti-Masonic trash.

This problem is a misery in two ways. First, when men interested in the Fraternity find all the anti-Masonic lies out there, they decide not to get involved with Masonry. Second, when people find out that a good man is a new Mason, if they have seen all this anti-Masonry online, they—and I mean people like this new brother’s family, or clergy members—they will pressure this good man to leave the Fraternity.

In future episodes, I'll go into more detail on each of these causes of the Masonic Membership Crisis. I'll explain how to take effective action to counter each one of them.

LINKSAmazon listing for Mark Koltko-Rivera’s book, The Resurgence of Freemasonry:

https://bit.ly/ResurgenceOfFreemasonry

Music: “Dreamer,” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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In this episode, I describe the kind of Freemasonry that we should be building. It is important to do this, because in practice there are several different styles of Freemasonry practiced in any given Grand Lodge in the U.S.:

• "The Businessmen": During a lodge meeting, they primarily focus on a business meeting.
• "Fish-Fry Freemasonry" and its upscale variant, "The Fellowship of the Onion Rings": primarily focused on fellowship activities.
• "The Cult of Ceremony": Precise, word-perfect ritual--but no explanation of how the symbolism or philosophical concepts in the ritual apply to daily life.
• "The Charitable Chaps"
• "The Esoteric Oasis"

It's great for lodges to have different personalities. But this becomes a problem when the heart and soul of Freemasonry--personal transformation-- gets lost in the shuffle.

We want to build a Freemasonry that is more devoted to our historic identity and mission. A big part of that identity and mission involves Masonry being an initiatic society that seeks to help men transform themselves into, not just better men, but really better men, much better men, some of the best men that the world has ever seen.

The Freemasonry we should build must have its focus firmly on the traditional concerns of the Fraternity: spiritual, moral, and intellectual growth and development, as well as fellowship.

• By spiritual development, I mean the lodge focuses on deepening a Mason’s relationship with the Supreme Being, and developing his sense of personal mission as a man in service to humanity.
• By moral development, I mean the Craft helps build in each Mason a stronger commitment to Masonic values. And what values are those? Things like religious and political toleration; treating men as equals, regardless of social class, race, or ethnic background; being a true gentleman inside and out; practicing brotherly love, relief, and truth-telling; practicing the four cardinal virtues and the three theological virtues—all in a man’s personal, business, and public affairs.
• By intellectual growth, I mean that the Masonic lodge implants within each Mason a focus on lifelong learning; an appetite to explore Nature and the universe, both the outer world and the inner world. Intellectual growth also includes a greater commitment to applying reason and rationality to the situations that one encounters in life and society.
• By fellowship, I mean that the lodge creates opportunities to form real friendships rather than just superficial acquaintance.

This would not be a Freemasonry of empty ritualism or superficial back-slapping. It would not be a charity or service club, overlaid with ritual. It would be a true initiatic society, a group of men devoted to changing themselves. Such a Freemasonry would inevitably change the men who are members of it, and through them it would change the society in which they live.

LINKS

Amazon page for Mark Koltko-Rivera’s book, The Resurgence of Freemasonry:

https://bit.ly/ResurgenceOfFreemasonry

Amazon page for Mark Koltko-Rivera’s book, Freemasonry: An Introduction:

https://bit.ly/freemasonryanintro

Music: “Dreamer,” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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In this episode, I point out two attitudes that we should change in the Fraternity to lay the groundwork for turning things around.

One such attitude is the idea that ‘Freemasonry is no longer relevant for today’s man.’ According to this style of thinking, the decline of Freemasonry is the perfectly natural consequence of today’s man being interested in different things than men were a century ago and more.

This is balderdash.

There have been a few enduring concerns that most men have had since the dawn of recorded history if not before. One is fundamental, even primal: what does it mean to be a man? Another is closely related: how can we be better men?

In some sectors of the modern men's movement, we see the notion that to be a man is to be focused on themes like strength, courage, mastery, and honor, and that men function best when attached to each other by bonds of brotherhood (my reading of, for example, Jack Donovan's The Way of Men). Sound familiar?

Today’s man is hungry to learn about models for manhood, and Freemasonry provides an excellent model of manhood for today’s man.

It’s not that men are not interested in what Freemasonry has to offer. It’s that they have no bloody idea what Freemasonry is about to begin with--and the general public's ignorance is Masonry's own fault. But we can change that, and in future episodes I shall explain exactly how we can change that.

Another problematic attitude is that “We need to have fewer Masons.” This idea is based on a logical fallacy. The crowd that says “we ought to have fewer Masons,” seems to be under the impression that the brothers who leave are the people less interested in Masonry, the people who we’re better off without.

But I come away from my researches with a very different picture of the people who demit and NPD from Masonry.

The biggest issue that we should be concerned about is when men leave because they are not receiving what they should be getting from their lodges. Things like instruction in the meaning of our symbolism, learning about Masonic philosophy, learning how to apply that philosophy and the lessons of our symbolism to daily life, to the challenges of being a better man in the 21st century.

We should make learning these subjects the center of our Masonic meetings. In future episodes, I’ll describe exactly what we can do to deliver on what we implicitly promise to our candidates.

Saying that we’re better off with fewer Masons is just a self-serving way to try to get off the hook for failing so many of the men whom we initiate. That’s our fault, that’s our shame, and we can and should change it.

As I’ll explain in future episodes, Masonry has a mission, part of that mission is building society, and when it comes to that effort, the more qualified men we have, the better.

LINKS

Amazon listing for Mark Koltko-Rivera’s book, The Resurgence of Freemasonry:

https://www.amazon.com/Resurgence-Freemasonry-Masonry-Survive-Thrive/dp/0615781241/

Music: “Dreamer,” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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Is Freemasonry dying? Given our membership statistics in the United States and Canada, there is good reason to be concerned. In this first episode of the podcast, your host, Mark Koltko-Rivera, makes a statement on this important issue, and explains what the entire podcast is about.

Like it or not, the question, "Is Freemasonry dying?", is on the minds of many Americans today, and for a very good reason. In the United States, Freemasonry has been losing numeric strength every single year since 1959.

Quite frankly, this is somewhat crazy. The American population, and so the number of potential Masonic petitioners, has been growing every year since 1959. The United States today has over 80% more people than it had in 1959. But American Freemasonry has shrunk by about 74% since 1959.

The customary explanations--attributing these losses to the passing of the World War II Generation, and the loss of the Sixties Generation--do not hold water when subjected to statistical scrutiny. The idea that we should "embrace smallness" is a direct contradiction to the ideas of the founders of Freemasonry, who wanted to change society--a task that requires a quantity of quality Masons.

Freemasonry is in the intensive care unit. Without vigorous treatment, Freemasonry will all but disappear in the United States, within the lifetimes of the men whom we are now initiating.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

There are reasons for the Masonic membership crisis that we can do something about. I’ll be describing those reasons in detail in future episodes of this podcast. Most important, we can take vigorous action, in different ways, and I’ll be describing those actions in detail in future episodes, as well. I believe that if we take the steps that I explain, we will not only help Masonry survive, but thrive. I believe that we can see the Fraternity grow to the greatest strength, and have the most powerful and positive effect on society, that it has ever had.

In every episode, I will look at one aspect of the Masonic Resurgence, and consider what we should do to change this situation. Sometimes that means changing what we think. Sometimes that mean changing what we do. I’ll cover both of those angles.

Although the local lodge officers, the DDGM, and the Most Worshipful Grand Master all have their roles in bringing about the Masonic Resurgence, the heavy lifting will be done by you: Joe Mason, the rank and file.

Send comments and questions to the podcast host at: masonicresurgence@yahoo.com .

I release new episodes weekly on Tuesdays. My episodes usually run 12 to 20 minutes, so you can listen on the road, on the treadmill, or during lunch, without really cutting into your day. My podcast is or will soon be available on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and Stitcher, and on Alexa devices through either the AnyPod or TuneIn apps.

LINKS

Masonic Service Association of North America membership statistics:

http://www.msana.com/msastats.asp

Amazon listing for Mark Koltko-Rivera’s book, The Resurgence of Freemasonry:

https://www.amazon.com/Resurgence-Freemasonry-Masonry-Survive-Thrive/dp/0615781241/

Mark Koltko-Rivera's website where he describes activities he is conducting for the Fraternity: www.lodgeconsulting.com

Music: “Dreamer,” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/