All you have to do is turn on your TV on any Sunday and listen to a young preacher out of Northeastern Houston by the name of Joel Osteen. Since taking the pulpit just ten years ago he has built up his Lakewood Church membership by over 400%. He now attracts more worshipers to his weekend services than most National Football League teams will later on Sunday afternoon. But that is not all, millions of people tune him in over 100 countries. He has been called a simpleton, a heretic, and worse but his audience keeps growing. Why? Joel Osteen preaches one simple message that resonates today more than at any time in recent memory; he preaches that God wants people to prosper in all areas of their lives.
He outlined his beliefs in his best-seller, Your Best Life Now, which has sold over 3 million copies since it was first published and has been followed by best selling book after book since 2005. In interviews, he comes off more like a modern day Earl Nightingale or Dale Carnegie than a church minister. No hell and brimstone on this pulpit - he tells people to believe.
“God's dream is that we be successful in our careers, and that we be able to send our kids to college. I don't mean that everyone is going to be rich, and I preach a lot on blooming where you're planted. But I don't have the mindset that money is a bad thing. [My views] may go against some of the older, traditional teachings. But I think we should have a mindset that God wants us to prosper in our relationships, our health, and our finances. God's desire is that we excel. And we see business leaders who are good strong Christians running [big] companies.”
What does this have to do with running a Masonic Lodge?
It is a real world example of what can happen in a dying organization such as a church, which faces many of the same problems we do; when a message of encouragement is the focal part of every meeting. Not only is this applicable to Freemasonry, it is at the very core of our philosophy. If one young man in the Deep South can get hundreds of thousands of people from every race and social structure to come together to support and promote each other by getting them to believe in a central belief that the individual is important, imagine what 1.5 million Freemasons could achieve?
We need to change the way we look at our members
A decline in numbers means there are fewer men available for the many tasks we take for granted. This reduces the quality and quantity of services the Masonic body can provide to its’ members and its’ community. Our Members are volunteers and they are critical to Freemasonry for the time they spend helping it operate and implementing its’ goals. In Freemasonry they are the heart and soul of any Lodge, Chapter or other Masonic Body. They are our greatest source of new members; they fund the fraternity and provide all of its services. Yet despite all of this we spend almost no effort to protect and maintain this valuable resource.
It is important for the survival of Freemasonry to establish a caring environment to encourage members to remain.
Time and talent are too valuable to waste
We ask our members to do more due to their reduced numbers, so it is vital that each of us pay attention to the use of the Brother’s valuable time. If we load them up with unnecessary meetings and practices they reach their burn out point faster and the number of available men to do the work shrinks even smaller. Some Brothers can commit to a fairly rigid schedule on a daily or weekly basis due to being retired or widowed. Others prefer to volunteer sporadically for varying lengths of time. Understanding what each Brother is comfortable with contributing in time is essential and needs to be constantly updated throughout the year. This is especially true in the case of newer Master Masons, or with members who are experiencing changes in their lifestyle.
The officers’ objective along with every team leader in the Lodge, is not only to make Lodge participation an effective use of each Brother’s time for the Lodge’s benefit, but also to inspire them to stay committed to Freemasonry. It's important to create a sense of community within the Lodge, where newer Brothers develop a sense of belonging to a special nourishing Brotherhood so that it becomes a symbiotic relationship where each Brother knows he is valued and they in turn value their time in the Lodge.