PROCEEDINGS GRAND LODGE - Freemasons of Wisconsin

and the garbage man is coming. You never know what will happen when a brotherpasses away. Protect yourself.”The solutions help everybody in the organization to see that money is a tool to beused for rebuilding the organization and redevelop a financial plan to look to thepicture. That money was left for a rainy-day by our brethren. They meant it to be used.You could even use just the interest and not the principle, to rebuild.”Another problem is membership. There is lack of unity and purpose and it is notbalanced. Usually if there is a purpose it is negative. We’re here to exist with no visionfor the future. When I work with lodges, I try I try to identify who are the positiveleaders and who are the negative. Our problem in Freemasonry is that too many ofour members suffer from a very fatal disease called “Miopticreptosis”.Grand Master, are you familiar with that particular disease? It is where the opticnerve becomes connected to the rectum, thereby giving one a very poor outlook on life.You hear them say, “We never did it that way before”, “It will never work”, “We triedthat 50 years ago and it failed”. It reminds me of one school of instruction the GrandLecturer was doing and one lodge chaplain sat in the north. The Grand Lecturer toldhim to sit in the east not the north. This old gentleman said, “Fifty years ago yourpredecessor said that I was to sit in the north, now you say to sit in the east. I wishyou would make up your mind.” I try to determine the dynamics between the twogroups and how to build them. I build them in love because we are a Brotherhood.Then I look for a spark of life. Who in this organization wants to see it live? OneChapter was going to close and a ninety-five year old man stood up and said, “I havebeen a member for sixty years, I am not going to let it die.” He took High Priest. Wehad a man in one Commandery, who at the age of fifty was Commander and at onehundred, he became Commander again to save his Commandery. He brought infifteen new members that year and they honored him before the Grand Commanderyof Michigan at the age of one hundred and one for the work he did. Until you are sixfeet under, there is something you can do for your lodge. There is always something.With one spark, I can start building a team and get the life going again. I look at whatmembers can be used to rejuvenate the group for the leadership, how do I deal withnegative members, what is motivating them, how do I make them positive or to at leastsay lets try. A lot of times it is over a cup of coffee. Never underestimate the power ofa cup of coffee and always one-on-one. Don’t use this at the meetings. Don’t go headon,charging at them, because that will just make them plant their feet harder. Sitdown one-on-one as two brothers to talk it out. You will be amazed at how much youcan accomplish on just that conversation. Negative leaders will sap the strength outof an organization and pull it down. We’ve got to turn them around to becomingbuilders again, because Masonry is about builders not vandals. It takes work andbrotherly love. There is a lack of goals. They have no idea why they exist or where theyare going. If you have no plan for your lodge, in one-year, five-year, ten years, you aregoing to die, because all you are doing is treading water.”Why does Masonry exist? To make Masons, to bring good men together, bonded ina universal brotherhood. We do that in many ways. We do it through our degree work,which is how we teach the principles of Masonry. We do it through social events, wecome together as good men, socializing together, enjoying good quality fellowship. Wehave a business meeting, but the time before and after is very, very important. In factyour lodge should be have coffee on one hour before the meeting begins. Why? Becauseit encourages people to come out earlier to start talking to each other. Coffee is cheap,85