tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3898336404849028382.post2329109698984489190..comments2023-01-25T02:06:37.096-06:00Comments on Essays of Robert G. Davis: Two Models of Success in Craft MasonryRobert G. Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02211353953715536761noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3898336404849028382.post-89133234410182544822008-05-29T17:41:00.000-05:002008-05-29T17:41:00.000-05:00These are excellent questions. Certainly, there ar...These are excellent questions. Certainly, there are advantages to both. The highly visible, productive, community-supporting lodge gives its members a chance to practice outside the lodge what they learn in it. It is the kind of lodge experience that the Masonic Renewal Committee of North America once projected would appeal to 3% of the male population in the United States. This represents millions of potential members. One can hardly find fault with a lodge culture that is so open and popular. Any organizational venue that visibly contributes to the welfare of a community is good. <BR/><BR/>But it is also important to understand the lodge with the well rounded agenda meets different needs in men than the lodge which is focused on the purely fraternal experience. The "public" lodge does many of the same kind of things any number of other community-based organizations do. Men seeking only to do good can find many opportunities to be of service to others without being Masons. The criteria, then, of giving service alone, or being a community service organization, does not provide us an adequate definition for Freemasonry. <BR/><BR/>We are first and foremost a fraternal society. For this reason, I believe it is the second model of success that Grand Lodges should begin sanctioning as a matter of fraternal policy. The studies I've read and the conversations I've had with young men born after 1975 suggest to me that younger men want a much clearer sense of spirituality and emotional stability as adults than they had growing up. They have a hunger for meaningful adult male role models in their life. They want spiritual development that comes from an universally reliable source. They embrace the idea that Freemasonry is a quest which is shared by three or four generations of men. And the goal is to find the mature masculine within themselves which leads them to personal development, self improvement and clarity of understanding about many things. <BR/><BR/>I believe the real work of Masonry is to connect generations of men together in a protected, private space where no invidious distinctions exist; where there is no basis for envy or jealousy, no presumption that the usual behaviors and attitudes one finds outside of lodge will be duplicated within it. A place that offers a venue for truth-seeking, a vehicle for self development; a quest for the spiritual. The real work of Masonry is to cultivate, experience, and protect such a path because it is the path of the mature masculine soul.<BR/><BR/>This is inner work--deeply personal work. And when this work is done right, there is little need on the part of members to use such a distinctive "Men's House" for any other purpose. It is our Transformative Art that distinguishes us from the rest of the community. <BR/><BR/>What we learn and become inside the lodge is what ultimatley improves society.Robert G. Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02211353953715536761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3898336404849028382.post-70579631460496876432008-05-28T13:57:00.000-05:002008-05-28T13:57:00.000-05:00This is a fascinating post. Thank you. If I coul...This is a fascinating post. Thank you. If I could ask you to expand on your thoughts, I would ask the following questions: <BR/>1.Is it your observation that these two models of governmental success are mutually exclusive? <BR/>2.Have they elements in common? <BR/>3.In your opinion, does the Community Focused Lodge bring more or less personal growth to the Mason than the Transformational Focused Lodge? <BR/>4.Do you prefer one over the other, or do you think that elements of both would be optimal?Lonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03371479219769175172noreply@blogger.com