Leading Masonic Organizations: A Cause to Make Good Men Greater

By Ashley Moye

Freemasonry’s mantra is “making good men better.” The principles of Freemasonry, however, are commonly orated in beautiful teachings that are often left open to individual interpretation or seen through a lens of misguided ideas and accepted rules. As a result, leaders are left ill-prepared for the challenges managing masonic organizations. Leading Masonic Organizations: A Cause to Make Good Men Greater discusses the state of the institution of Freemasonry from an organizational management perspective and takes a deep look into the tough Masonic realities of our time. Author and Freemason Bro. Moye offers a solution to Freemasonry’s leadership deficit and addresses the need for a member-centered value system and the development of service-oriented, strategic, and transformative leaders. If the institution of Freemasonry can elevate the membership experience and ensure its standing as the premier professional fraternal organization, a new mantra may be in order: “making good men greater.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gatekeeper Press
• Release date: Apr 10, 2024
• ISBN: 9781662946370

Book preview

Introduction

I AM A SON of Freemasonry. I hope that as men, we can someday achieve an idea of being greater men, set aside our personal vendettas and conflicts, and truly live as Freemasons. I write of what is in plain sight and the commonalities of those who claim to be Freemasons. We have done well to get by and achieve our personal ambitions within the fraternity, but Freemasonry deserves so much more from us.

I write from a perspective of my own flaws and view of self-reflection. I write from a perspective of a common experience. I write from a perspective of what most of us want to say out loud, and for years have sat in halls and kept to ourselves out of fear of retaliation, though our God did not give one man dominion over the other. I write because I have been afforded the time to understand what was originally intended for Freemasonry and the undesirable realities of our times. I write because there is no receptive leadership audience and therefore no member microphone nor member stage. I write to give a voice to the voiceless, and to offer something of value to the Craft, and to encourage other Brothers to write and do the same. No matter any perceived standing, many of us have a wealth of experience and value that we need not take to our graves. I write for the great men among us, for there are too few of them. I write for positive, progressive cultural and institutional change.

Maybe a sense of excellence in organizational leadership and management is not important to some of us. Some of us may not care much as to how our organizations are being led (or run, or not), or the impact to members, especially if it does not impede our self-interests. To compromise for self-interest is a hell of a human thing. So is a lack of organizational progress. I can give a near never-ending list of examples of leaders’ self-interest over the fraternity and lack of organizational progress. If you ever wonder who I am writing about in my examples, I am writing about me and the rest of us. I almost always use the Grand Master or presiding officer as a reference because of the reality of the influence of this position (along with all other Grand levels and equivalent). When a Grand Master speaks or acts, it changes the trajectory of the whole of the institution. When a Worshipful Master speaks or acts, it determines the survivability of the Lodge and every separate part of the institution that depends on a thriving Lodge. I am going to continue to write through the lens of organizational leadership and management because for the sake of the future of our fraternity, it is a new focus that we need and can no longer ignore.

I offer to us to see, hear, and do something a different way, to say something, and to be objective and of independent thought. I believe we have to own the realities of our times. We have to wear it where it fits. We are very capable of elevating the quality of our leadership and standing as a professional fraternal organization. Our challenges with destructive and divisive politics, self-interest, and a lack of progress are not isolated, and there is a silent disgust with leadership. Our inability to forgive and restore harmony among men will prove to be grave for the institution of Freemasonry. Change takes the willingness of leaders and members to take necessary actions to do the work to make it happen. I won’t claim any authority or imply that I am in possession of the single solution to our troubles, but just that I have a hope for something greater. What I write may be offensive to lesser men, and yet we have to own it where it fits. If writing can get us to achieve a call to greatness, then our fraternity and men and our future might be greater for it.

The most common way people give up their power is

by thinking they don’t have any.

– ALICE WALKER

Over the years we continue to express Freemasonry eloquently by definition as a system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated through symbolism. In other words, Freemasonry is built on principles of morality: to do and live well and to serve mankind. In application it is simply how we are supposed to live our lives. There is no claim here to be an authority on masonic philosophy nor its rich history, but present time demands of us great care to ensure the prosperity and sustainment of the future of our fraternity.

Today, we carry the mantra of Making Good Men Better. Our principles, which we commonly orate as some of the most beautiful teachings, are often left for individual interpretation, or we rely on the acceptance and interpretation of misguided ideas and old rules. Nothing really prepares us for the challenges of leading and managing masonic organizations. We endure the challenges but neglect the adverse impact to the membership experience and the survivability of the institution.

Time has rendered many of our usual practices and customs counterproductive, obsolete, and in most cases, detrimental, as if we are merely existing and being ushered along by time. I do believe there is a subtle voice of hope for the future inside all of us. Surely, this time warrants our attention. Toward a greater cause, we need to retool approaches to our leadership and business practices and the development of our members. A need for a type of leadership that fosters the continuous improvements needed to advance the future of our fraternity, that recognizes the time to be aware and be deliberate and passionate about the growth and sustainability of our fraternity for the next century and beyond, and to strive to realize our fullest potential. Beyond making good men better, why not make good men greater?

When a Man is a Mason

WHEN HE CAN look out over the rivers, the hills, and the far horizon with a profound sense of his own littleness in the vast scheme of things, and yet have faith, hope, and courage—which is the root of every virtue.

When he knows that down in his heart, every man is as noble, as vile, as Divine, as diabolic, and as lonely as himself, and seeks to know, to forgive, and to love his fellow man.

When he knows how to sympathize with men in their sorrows, yes, even in their sins—knowing that each man fights a hard fight against many odds.

When he has learned how to make friends and to keep them, and above all how to keep friends with himself.

When he loves flowers, can hunt the birds without a gun, and feels the thrill of an old forgotten joy when he hears the laugh of a little child.

When he can be happy and high-minded amid the meaner drudgeries of life.

When the star-crowned trees and the glint of the sunlight on flowing waters subdue him like the thought of one much loved and long dead.

When no voice of distress reaches his ears in vain, and no hand seeks his aid without response.

When he finds good in every faith that helps any man to lay hold of Divine things, and sees majestic meaning in life, whatever the name of that faith may be.

When he can look into a wayside puddle and see something beyond mud, and into the face of the most forlorn fellow mortal and see something beyond sin.

When he knows how to pray, how to love, how to hope.

When he has kept faith with himself, with his fellow man, with his God; in his hand a sword for evil, in his heart a bit of a song—glad to live, but not afraid to die! Such a man has found the only real secret of Masonry, and the one which it is trying to give to all the world.

– Joseph Fort Newton

CHAPTER 1

The Importance

of Freemasonry

WE HAVE COME to misunderstand the true purpose of a Freemason due to centuries of misrepresentation and perversion. This misunderstanding is perpetuated by bogus, clandestine and regular Masons. This is so much so, that even regular Freemasons and the rest of the world need to be reminded.

Freemasonry the Institution and Freemason the Member.

The institution of Freemasonry needs a living thing. Without a living thing, the institution of Freemasonry is merely a sophisticated idea. Freemasonry the institution exists through the Freemason, the individual member. The individual member is the institution, making the institution and the individual a representation of the same. The member exists to serve the institution. The institution exists to serve the member.

The same applies to any subordinate organizations. To go a bit further, consider member to member, where the member is the sole originator of power. The original power unit. The number of members makes up the collective life of the organization and still the greater existence of the institution. The organization and institution belong to and are in the care of the collective of the membership. Though it is often seen otherwise, we must never leave the care of the organization and institution to a position.

We fail to understand the nature of our existence as members and our true life-tie to the institution and the organization. The institution and organization and the collective membership are one and the same. The collective membership is the truest expression of life and power here. And 99.9 percent of the time, we relinquish our responsibility to ourselves and the institution to an idol or position.

We are not here to serve positions. We want to believe by misguided knowledge and understanding that members exist to serve those in positions of authority or perceived power. Most, if not all, of us in positions of authority or perceived power believe this matter of service to be a truth of a member’s existence. However, the position is not a necessity of the institution nor is such a position a necessity of the individual member. Though to most, attaining a position (because of perceived power) is more important to them than the principal idea of their own existence. The position neither makes the institution nor the individual member. The member, the essential building block of the institution, who ascends to a position of the institution, is yet still a member. If any, the context we place on positions is that the position as a mechanism exists to serve the institution and serve the individual member, who, again, are one and the same.

This could also explain the flaw of the lens in which each member view themselves as being separate and just belonging to the institution. There has to be more than just belonging to something. We always view member participation as a choice. This view is what makes participation a cultural problem and phenomenon. Think of participation as the manner in which a member fulfills (lives up to) his obligation to the mission of the institution, ensuring the institution fulfills (lives up to) its purpose, mission and foundational ideas. For each member who chooses not to participate, there is a loss in the life and identity of the institution. For each member who chooses to participate, he becomes the source of life and identity of the institution. The member is in fact the sole originator of life and power in any organization. Most members fail to understand this fact and that the true life-tie of the member and institution is each individual member’s responsibility. When this tie is separated, the institution is left to be nothing more than a collection of sophisticated ideas.

Freemasonry and Religion.

It is worth it to restate that Freemasonry is the oldest fraternity, and it is built on the highest ideas of faith, hope, charity, service, and brotherly love. A Freemason, as a member of this fraternity, is to represent a superior class of servants to the needs and causes of mankind. Inherent to this charge is the responsibility for positive outcomes in our society. Freemasonry is a way of life. Freemasons are intended to be greater men and not just the better, good, or less we often settle for.

Freemasonry demands greatness of a man, and there is nothing about demanding greatness of a man that should conflict with his religion or his duties to his family or his country. We might assume the foundation of religion(s) is based on high ideals and principal teachings among things like faith, hope, charity, love, and service, and built on a philosophical, spiritual, and moral construct. A man who pursues Freemasonry might not find a better supplement to improve his way of life.

It is noble in its administration: to think and let think, beyond the narrow, contracted prejudices of bitter sectarians in these modern times. It is general or universal language, fitted to benefit the poor stranger, which no other institution is calculated to reach, by extending the beneficent hand.

– HARRY S. TRUMAN

That supplemental or even complementary match of Freemasonry and religion is how it should be. However, since the beginning of its time, Freemasonry has found religion (its leaders and idealists) as a competitive force. We might find conflict between religion and Freemasonry where a person has misrepresented or perverted something of religion or misrepresented or perverted something of Freemasonry. This conflict easily arrives through the nature and actions of a man as he might demonstrate a misunderstanding in his religion or a misunderstanding of Freemasonry. Whether a representative of either, a man might not understand how religion is so interwoven into Freemasonry.

Though alike and built on the highest ideals of morality and spirituality (where religious teachings sit at the foundation of Freemasonry), some religious leaders see Freemasonry as contrary to most religious beliefs. Those of us who know better might say that this thought the church carries about Freemasonry is far from the truth. I like to think two things contribute to this. The first is the truth that Freemasons for centuries and still today have misrepresented and perverted the original intent of Freemasonry. The second is that people who should study the whole of Freemasonry do not, or they are only drawn to the things that validate their beliefs about Freemasonry and Freemasons. We don’t always read the things we should read, especially if they are from a different point of view.

A man in true pursuit of improving himself in Freemasonry might not find a greater complement to his personal development than the philosophical, moral and spiritual constructs of his religion. And despite the estranged relation or association between man in church and man in lodge, religion is the greatest complement to Freemasonry. We are indeed in need of a time when Freemasons are truly developed in the foundational moral and spiritual teachings of Freemasonry. Where these ideals are reflected in the way we live our lives daily. A time when the way a Freemason lives and his religion as originally intended by Freemasonry has become a true complement of each other.

To Improve Yourself in Masonry.

The truth in Freemasonry transcends all those things that might divide or separate us. We settle for the idea that a man developed through the teachings of Freemasonry is to become a better man—where we make good men better—that the continuous quest to learn to subdue his passions and improve himself in masonry would afford a man the opportunity to be a better man. This intent professed by every Freemason, I believe, has a dependent relationship. For a man to improve himself in Freemasonry, he must first subdue the worst of his human nature. To accomplish this first act, he must achieve a greater sense of mastery of himself.

A Freemason’s inability to master his human nature is the very reason his actions conflict with the greater teachings and ideals of Freemasonry. A Freemason must take care to always seek the greater course to rise above any matter of conflict, to always be the greater man of the situation and waste no opportunity to reflect on and serve as an example of the greater teachings of Freemasonry.

Too often the worst of our nature prevails. This includes any acts of unmasonic conduct, acts contrary to the teachings of Freemasonry, and toxic leadership behavior. We have reduced the existence of the institution of Freemasonry to that of a social club, consumed by the celebrity of positions and self-interests. It is widely evident that Brothers are not well developed in the true teachings of Freemasonry. This has become more of a social club experience, where Brothers lack a sense of virtue in actions and conduct, and Brothers refuse to conform to any professional standards. Positions of leadership have shown that this ascension does not necessarily signify a mastery of human nature, nor is it a sign of greatness. Brothers lack the temperance to avoid the destructive nature that contributes to division and the ruin of harmony among men. Brothers also lack the maturity to properly address conflict and disagreements. Because of this human flaw, as Freemasons, most of us might never realize the greatness that Freemasonry demands. Nor might we ever realize the true beauty of its teachings and the richness of life that comes with it. To live in the darkness of a social club experience and to travel through such darkness under the auspices of believing true light has been found. To be too blind to realize that reaching or obtaining this light is so much further away from us.

It is only through achieving the first act of the individual learning to subdue the worst of his human nature that he can then endeavor to truly improve himself in the art and science of Freemasonry. We have too many Brothers among us who have been misguided into a social and celebrity-charged experience and because of their actions, appear to have no idea of what it truly means to be and live the intended life of a Freemason. To achieve the second act of improving himself in Freemasonry will take the reinforcement of a driven leadership philosophy that promotes further development of the individual member in matters of living an upright life as a Freemason. We set conditions to usher in greater men by ridding our institution of our destructive nature and then purposefully developing our members in the true ways in which a Freemason should live. Until then, we might continue to operate as Freemasons in title or association and never reach the truth of what it means to be a Freemason.

CHAPTER 2

The Most Pejorative

Realities of Our Time

FREEMASONRY demands greatness, and we have often settled for just giving good enough in return. There is a greater potential in all of us as individuals and also