Most of our Lodges have a large percentage of inactive members. Some of course have moved away, so can no longer be active in our Lodges, but certainly not all.
Some became inactive because whatever the Lodge was doing, it wasn’t worth those Brother’s time.
If, since they went inactive, things have changed in our Lodge, if we have been working to improve the Lodge experience, then how do we invite them back in a way that they might actually come and check the Lodge out once again? Can we make that invitation attractive enough to get them back into Lodge for a meeting or two?
If we are able to attract some of these inactive Brothers, get them to give the Lodge a try once more, what should we do to ensure that they will want to hang around, move from the inactive to the active list?
If we are improving things, how can we best get the word out?
Let’s chat about it, because these are men who want to be Masons, these are men we can bring back if we make our gatherings compelling enough for them to want to attend.
An investor in one of my companies once told me, "fail to segment your market at your own peril." We would learn a lot if we understood why we lost the various segments of lost Masons.
There's certainly a segment we won't get back; either they or we made the wrong choice. It would be very valuable to know why the wrong choice was made but I find it exceedingly rare to get a response from this group.
Another segment is Brothers who want to be Masons but the chemistry in the Lodge didn't work for them. If they were to simply say that the chemistry didn't work we'd be able to help them affiliate with a different Lodge or introduce them to a concordant body that will help the lost Brother continue his Masonic journey in a different venue.
Relocation is much more prevalent than it was twenty or thirty years ago, and the pandemic has only turbocharged that trend. The easy answer for the segment lost through relocation is to extend the ability to hold virtual communications, but that's probably not a complete solution. Even if we optimize the virtual Masonic experience (we haven't) that won't counter the increasing Zoom burnout that many are reporting. And while a Lodge might lose a Brother due to relocation must that also mean that Masonry loses him too? Is relocation enough of a household disruption that reconnecting with a Lodge in his new home is simply not a priority for the mobile Brother, or was the experience in his Mother Lodge not satisfying so relocation is a convenient excuse to simply step away?
The most troubling segment is the Brothers who walk away because "there's no there there" in their Lodge. In addition to failing them the Lodge is also failing the Brothers who continue to show up. This segment is the one for which we have the best odds of getting back, or simply keeping in the first place.
Quite a few of the brothers that moved away simply won’t demit from their home lodge, for whatever reason. Even if they never plan on coming back. Whatever state they moved to, I would assume there is a local lodge that would be happy to have them attend there. So, contacting those brothers is sort of pointless, isn’t it? To quote a famous movie gangster “he’s gone, and we couldn’t do nothing about it”.
Then you have the aged who didn’t move away, but are not capable to go to lodge unassisted. Chances are they are too embarrassed to ask. Those the lodge should reach out to and see if they would like to have someone come and pick them up.
Next are the ones that have been driven out by other members of the lodge. Good luck getting those back. Lodges tend to forget that our organization is strictly volunteer.
There are a handful of brothers who have been faced with family issues that require them to make hard decisions about priorities. You have to respect that and let the brother go. Someday he might be able to come back. Just keep them abreast of lodge activities though mailing lists, social media, etc.
Finally, there are the brothers who quit because they just didn’t find that masonry was what they expected it to be. Either the lodge lied to them or they lied to themselves. We’ve covered that particular topic before. If they lied to themselves that’s on them. If the lodge made promises to the candidate, and failed to meet those expectations, then the lodge needs to rethink how it does things. Almost none of the lodges do, they tend to think everything is fine, when it’s not. Those lodges are the worst, because they fail to recognize it’s own failings, and refuse to change, being comfortable in their mediocrity.
There are various types of lodges. Social, educational, esoteric, etc. whichever one you are, be the best at it.
I'm one of those that would like to come back but my current location does not have any lodges offering the experience I crave. I'm looking for friendship. Men of similar interests and economic standing with myself. The one man who fit that standard in my lodge died unexpectedly from a botched outpatient surgery and I haven't found anything since that would bring me back. I want to have a luxurious experience but all the lodges I know of in my local area are stuck in a mindset of a poor barely scraping by lodge low standards and a minimal effort.
I wish I had time to drive 4 hours for the closest lodge experience that suits me but I don't have spousal support for that.
I am making a couple last ditch efforts to create a luxurious experience in my area.
If my efforts fail, I will demit from masonry permanently and put my efforts to a new organization. Even if I have to build it from scratch.
This question, I believe, gets to the heart of solving many of the challenges we have as a fraternity. It gets to the heart of quality memberships which gets to the heart of quality Lodges, which gets to the heart of financial stability of our organizations. Perhaps it’s the arrogance of youth or the arrogance of leadership that we let older brothers slip through the cracks when there is so much experience and knowledge that can be tapped into.
On the flip side, there can also be an arrogance of age where we are not of open minds to accept new ways of doing things. I can attest to that being of the geezer age myself, which has prompted some brothers to kick me in the rear until I come to my senses.
In the business world, market research has shown time after time that acquiring a new customer can cost five times more than retaining an existing customer. The success rate of selling to a customer you already have is 60-70%, while the success rate of selling to a new customer is 5-20%.
This can be equated to not-for-profit organizations which count on members' involvement, knowledge, and leadership to ensure successful endeavors. The success of a Lodge goes up 60%-70% when brothers are actively engaged while the success of acquiring new members is 5-20% because they are new and have no points of reference or context on which to make decisions.
We all lead busy lives and a holistic approach to members is one way to lighten the load. I know of older members who are walking/talking history books of the Lodge and local community who would make great education presentations during stated meetings. I know of several brothers who are nearing the century mark who can recite lectures without notes or missing a beat who would gladly participate if given the opportunity.
I learn best from those folks in our midst who have a wealth of knowledge to share and would enthusiastically do so if asked. I learned long ago that God gave us two eyes, two ears, and one mouth. I try to use those accordingly.
It is my opinion that every man, more especially every Mason has or should have a personal unique project they are or should be working on.....that of improving themselves. The second sentence of the First Degree Lecture tells us "That before his entrance into the sacred precincts of the Lodge, every candidate is informed that Freemasonry consists of a course of symbolic and Moral instruction." I would suggest that application of that instruction outside of the Lodge is also an important part of Freemasonry.
I feel that we should focus on giving instruction on what every Mason can directly apply to his personal unique project. I feel too much is focused on whence Freemasonry originated, history and other topics which can't be changed. I accept that no one knows for sure.
Knowledge which can't be used is useless in my opinion and as a result many go away dissatisfied. If we can give a Brother something which benefits him directly we can change, I have to go to Lodge tonight" to "I can't wait to go to Lodge tonight."
As is true in life, so here in Masonry life is complicated. Brothers stop comming to Lodge for multiple reasons. Some of those reasons can be effectively addressed, some cannot.
I won't guess about other people's lives so I'll talk about mine.
Babies, and children take time. Lots of time. In my own circumstance, for years my wife traveled on bussiness over 50% of the month. Her work involves projects of national and sometimes international scope. She would come home and I'd joke "I think I'm married to you...but I'm not sure."
Somewhere in that schedule we had a son and I became a married single parent. Children need activities that keep them focused on peformance. We chose hockey. We had two games a week, two practices a week and at least one and often two private lessons a week. There goes the week. There were no free nights for me.
Now this is actually a good point to young men considering Masonry. WB Jeff Craig pointed out that the best time to become a Mason is NOW. Yes, there will be the pressure of new jobs. Yes, you will move. Yes there will be children and yes you won't have time. But it's better to be a Mason now, because there will be some evening when you do have time and need to be with your Brothers, and if you are a Mason, then the Lodge is waiting for you.
Fact is, between work and family, many of our lives are overscheduled.
So work, family, new job, new town all get in the way. It happens. For those men, we can reach out and let them know the Lodge is here.
Too, as has been said, there are Lodge cultures that just don't fit a particular person. Let's pretend that I'm a particular faith that doesn't drink. A Table Lodge, or a Lodge that has whiskey and cigar night would not be a good fit for me.
The one that's really tough is dealing with toxic personalities. These are people who seem to gravitate towards fraturnal organizations to carve out a personal kingdom. There is a YouTube program on Narcissistic Personalties by a Doctor Ramani that, while sometimes painful to watch, is also something we should be paying attention to. We need to be very careful about the people we bring into a Lodge and we need to watch out for those who exhibit this personality pathology. Speaking of pathology, there are "Brothers", who cross the line while in the company of our daughters, wives and sisters with sexual comments that in any other enviroment would be considered sexual harrasment. I've been present when that has happened. I've heard racist stuff too, and apart from just being wrong, it also costs the lodge. I've had both Brothers and women tell me "I'll NEVER come back to this place as along as that person is here". And the fact is, they aren't wrong.
We've talked about how deadly the "Read the minutes and Pay the bills" lodge meetings are. I can't do that. If that's all there is, then it can be all there is to someone else. I have better places to put the time.
Then we come to "Masonic Education". That's an opportunity or a nail in the coffin. If it engages the entire Lodge in active discussion then it's an opportunity. If it's a lecture on some obscure topic, usually given by one person who loves to give lectures to a captive audience....well, enough said.
I'm of the thought that the developing video program has huge potential. It allows a Mason to choose his area of interest, and then, maybe at10:30 at night when the house has at last quieted down, he can find a private place and consider the topic. Personally I'm looking forward to just that. Later, in whatever forum it can be a topic for discussion.
Looking at this topic with brutal honesty, there will be some absent Masons that we wouldn't want back into our lodge but might suggest it would be a better fit someplace else. Others we don't want back at all. Anywhere. And then there are those Brothers we'd really like to see again. The best action I can think of is the lightest possible touch... a card now and then, maybe with a photo of the Brothers eating together 'Having a Wonderful time. It would be even better if you were here!" sort of message.
We’re working on that.
Some of our members moved away or are infirm. Some I think are open to re-establishing a connection.
It takes a few brothers to make those calls regularly.
An investor in one of my companies once told me, "fail to segment your market at your own peril." We would learn a lot if we understood why we lost the various segments of lost Masons.
There's certainly a segment we won't get back; either they or we made the wrong choice. It would be very valuable to know why the wrong choice was made but I find it exceedingly rare to get a response from this group.
Another segment is Brothers who want to be Masons but the chemistry in the Lodge didn't work for them. If they were to simply say that the chemistry didn't work we'd be able to help them affiliate with a different Lodge or introduce them to a concordant body that will help the lost Brother continue his Masonic journey in a different venue.
Relocation is much more prevalent than it was twenty or thirty years ago, and the pandemic has only turbocharged that trend. The easy answer for the segment lost through relocation is to extend the ability to hold virtual communications, but that's probably not a complete solution. Even if we optimize the virtual Masonic experience (we haven't) that won't counter the increasing Zoom burnout that many are reporting. And while a Lodge might lose a Brother due to relocation must that also mean that Masonry loses him too? Is relocation enough of a household disruption that reconnecting with a Lodge in his new home is simply not a priority for the mobile Brother, or was the experience in his Mother Lodge not satisfying so relocation is a convenient excuse to simply step away?
The most troubling segment is the Brothers who walk away because "there's no there there" in their Lodge. In addition to failing them the Lodge is also failing the Brothers who continue to show up. This segment is the one for which we have the best odds of getting back, or simply keeping in the first place.
Quite a few of the brothers that moved away simply won’t demit from their home lodge, for whatever reason. Even if they never plan on coming back. Whatever state they moved to, I would assume there is a local lodge that would be happy to have them attend there. So, contacting those brothers is sort of pointless, isn’t it? To quote a famous movie gangster “he’s gone, and we couldn’t do nothing about it”.
Then you have the aged who didn’t move away, but are not capable to go to lodge unassisted. Chances are they are too embarrassed to ask. Those the lodge should reach out to and see if they would like to have someone come and pick them up.
Next are the ones that have been driven out by other members of the lodge. Good luck getting those back. Lodges tend to forget that our organization is strictly volunteer.
There are a handful of brothers who have been faced with family issues that require them to make hard decisions about priorities. You have to respect that and let the brother go. Someday he might be able to come back. Just keep them abreast of lodge activities though mailing lists, social media, etc.
Finally, there are the brothers who quit because they just didn’t find that masonry was what they expected it to be. Either the lodge lied to them or they lied to themselves. We’ve covered that particular topic before. If they lied to themselves that’s on them. If the lodge made promises to the candidate, and failed to meet those expectations, then the lodge needs to rethink how it does things. Almost none of the lodges do, they tend to think everything is fine, when it’s not. Those lodges are the worst, because they fail to recognize it’s own failings, and refuse to change, being comfortable in their mediocrity.
There are various types of lodges. Social, educational, esoteric, etc. whichever one you are, be the best at it.
I'm one of those that would like to come back but my current location does not have any lodges offering the experience I crave. I'm looking for friendship. Men of similar interests and economic standing with myself. The one man who fit that standard in my lodge died unexpectedly from a botched outpatient surgery and I haven't found anything since that would bring me back. I want to have a luxurious experience but all the lodges I know of in my local area are stuck in a mindset of a poor barely scraping by lodge low standards and a minimal effort.
I wish I had time to drive 4 hours for the closest lodge experience that suits me but I don't have spousal support for that.
I am making a couple last ditch efforts to create a luxurious experience in my area.
If my efforts fail, I will demit from masonry permanently and put my efforts to a new organization. Even if I have to build it from scratch.
This question, I believe, gets to the heart of solving many of the challenges we have as a fraternity. It gets to the heart of quality memberships which gets to the heart of quality Lodges, which gets to the heart of financial stability of our organizations. Perhaps it’s the arrogance of youth or the arrogance of leadership that we let older brothers slip through the cracks when there is so much experience and knowledge that can be tapped into.
On the flip side, there can also be an arrogance of age where we are not of open minds to accept new ways of doing things. I can attest to that being of the geezer age myself, which has prompted some brothers to kick me in the rear until I come to my senses.
In the business world, market research has shown time after time that acquiring a new customer can cost five times more than retaining an existing customer. The success rate of selling to a customer you already have is 60-70%, while the success rate of selling to a new customer is 5-20%.
This can be equated to not-for-profit organizations which count on members' involvement, knowledge, and leadership to ensure successful endeavors. The success of a Lodge goes up 60%-70% when brothers are actively engaged while the success of acquiring new members is 5-20% because they are new and have no points of reference or context on which to make decisions.
We all lead busy lives and a holistic approach to members is one way to lighten the load. I know of older members who are walking/talking history books of the Lodge and local community who would make great education presentations during stated meetings. I know of several brothers who are nearing the century mark who can recite lectures without notes or missing a beat who would gladly participate if given the opportunity.
I learn best from those folks in our midst who have a wealth of knowledge to share and would enthusiastically do so if asked. I learned long ago that God gave us two eyes, two ears, and one mouth. I try to use those accordingly.
It is my opinion that every man, more especially every Mason has or should have a personal unique project they are or should be working on.....that of improving themselves. The second sentence of the First Degree Lecture tells us "That before his entrance into the sacred precincts of the Lodge, every candidate is informed that Freemasonry consists of a course of symbolic and Moral instruction." I would suggest that application of that instruction outside of the Lodge is also an important part of Freemasonry.
I feel that we should focus on giving instruction on what every Mason can directly apply to his personal unique project. I feel too much is focused on whence Freemasonry originated, history and other topics which can't be changed. I accept that no one knows for sure.
Knowledge which can't be used is useless in my opinion and as a result many go away dissatisfied. If we can give a Brother something which benefits him directly we can change, I have to go to Lodge tonight" to "I can't wait to go to Lodge tonight."
As is true in life, so here in Masonry life is complicated. Brothers stop comming to Lodge for multiple reasons. Some of those reasons can be effectively addressed, some cannot.
I won't guess about other people's lives so I'll talk about mine.
Babies, and children take time. Lots of time. In my own circumstance, for years my wife traveled on bussiness over 50% of the month. Her work involves projects of national and sometimes international scope. She would come home and I'd joke "I think I'm married to you...but I'm not sure."
Somewhere in that schedule we had a son and I became a married single parent. Children need activities that keep them focused on peformance. We chose hockey. We had two games a week, two practices a week and at least one and often two private lessons a week. There goes the week. There were no free nights for me.
Now this is actually a good point to young men considering Masonry. WB Jeff Craig pointed out that the best time to become a Mason is NOW. Yes, there will be the pressure of new jobs. Yes, you will move. Yes there will be children and yes you won't have time. But it's better to be a Mason now, because there will be some evening when you do have time and need to be with your Brothers, and if you are a Mason, then the Lodge is waiting for you.
Fact is, between work and family, many of our lives are overscheduled.
So work, family, new job, new town all get in the way. It happens. For those men, we can reach out and let them know the Lodge is here.
Too, as has been said, there are Lodge cultures that just don't fit a particular person. Let's pretend that I'm a particular faith that doesn't drink. A Table Lodge, or a Lodge that has whiskey and cigar night would not be a good fit for me.
The one that's really tough is dealing with toxic personalities. These are people who seem to gravitate towards fraturnal organizations to carve out a personal kingdom. There is a YouTube program on Narcissistic Personalties by a Doctor Ramani that, while sometimes painful to watch, is also something we should be paying attention to. We need to be very careful about the people we bring into a Lodge and we need to watch out for those who exhibit this personality pathology. Speaking of pathology, there are "Brothers", who cross the line while in the company of our daughters, wives and sisters with sexual comments that in any other enviroment would be considered sexual harrasment. I've been present when that has happened. I've heard racist stuff too, and apart from just being wrong, it also costs the lodge. I've had both Brothers and women tell me "I'll NEVER come back to this place as along as that person is here". And the fact is, they aren't wrong.
We've talked about how deadly the "Read the minutes and Pay the bills" lodge meetings are. I can't do that. If that's all there is, then it can be all there is to someone else. I have better places to put the time.
Then we come to "Masonic Education". That's an opportunity or a nail in the coffin. If it engages the entire Lodge in active discussion then it's an opportunity. If it's a lecture on some obscure topic, usually given by one person who loves to give lectures to a captive audience....well, enough said.
I'm of the thought that the developing video program has huge potential. It allows a Mason to choose his area of interest, and then, maybe at10:30 at night when the house has at last quieted down, he can find a private place and consider the topic. Personally I'm looking forward to just that. Later, in whatever forum it can be a topic for discussion.
Looking at this topic with brutal honesty, there will be some absent Masons that we wouldn't want back into our lodge but might suggest it would be a better fit someplace else. Others we don't want back at all. Anywhere. And then there are those Brothers we'd really like to see again. The best action I can think of is the lightest possible touch... a card now and then, maybe with a photo of the Brothers eating together 'Having a Wonderful time. It would be even better if you were here!" sort of message.