Charles W. Amidon, 33°
1706 Hillside Drive
Omaha, Nebraska 68114-1621

We can make inactive into active members by asking them to help in areas of their special expertise.

...When you plant a young tree, certain guidelines must be followed. First, you must decide what species and quality is best for the intended area. Second, you have to select a nursery that carries quality stock. Third, you have to get in your car and drive to the nursery. Usually, they won’t deliver one small tree at a time. Fourth, it is necessary that you dig the proper-sized hole in which to plant the tree. Lastly, you must treat it to the right type and amount of fertilizer and then give it an initial drink of water. The last step is crucial in getting your new tree off to a good start.
...You might feel that 20 pounds of fertilizer and 30 gallons of water everyday would be the best way for your tree to make a quick start. If a little of each is fine, then ten times as much should be better! So what happens? The tree dies!
...If you stop to think about it, isn’t that the way we, as Freemasons, tend to treat our new members? We follow steps one through three in most cases. Then in our haste to get them involved, we proceed to smother them with fertilizer, water them too abundantly, and keep them in the dark. You would think we were trying to raise mushrooms!
...A better way of treating a new member should be available. When a man’s petition is read in Lodge, the Secretary usually states his place and date of birth, his home address, whether or not he is married, and a brief reference to his occupation. Other than that, the membership at large knows very little about the man. He may be a brain surgeon, excellent cabinetmaker, a sheet metal mechanic, a prolific writer, an outstanding public speaker. The details of his exact expertise are never disclosed. They are only discovered if he becomes an active member and reveals his talents piecemeal over Lodge coffee. What a waste of potentially excellent talents by our neglect!
...How much extra work would be entailed in asking our new member what his special talents and hobbies might be? With the advent of computers, a Lodge could easily put together a database and be able to pull out these talents when a special need arises in the Lodge.
...Think how a new member would respond if some small Lodge project needed to be accomplished that fit his expertise perfectly. Ask a brain surgeon if the Lodge might be of assistance in volunteering its services at the hospital. Ask the sheet metal worker to give you his opinion on how best to fix a leaking gutter. Ask the cabinetmaker if he has any suggestions on how to repair a broken piece of furniture. Ask the writer if he would like to contribute to the Lodge trestleboard. Ask the public speaker if he would be interested in making a presentation to the Lodge at one of its dinners. If any of them respond positively, we have just made an active member! We gave him just the right amount of fertilizer and water to make him grow!
...Note that we didn’t tell him what to do. We just asked for his advice and made him feel important.
...In most Lodges or Temples, two approaches are made to a new member. The most deadly is to ignore him and assume he is as interested in Freemasonry as we are. We assume he immediately wants to take an active part. He seldom does.
...The second method is to smother him with too much dictated work and badger him to change his lifestyle overnight. We see attendance as a priority. In his mind, his priorities are already set. Why should he change now? We have to give him a reason! Use too much fertilizer and water, and we’ll lose him, just as we could lose the tree.
...New members are like chains. We can’t push them; they have to be pulled, but don’t pull too hard. Use a little gentle persuasion and see what happens. We might be pleasantly surprised by the result.
...Let’s start selecting good trees. Go get them. Select a place just right to fit them. Use just the right amount of fertilizer and water. We could be starting a new forest!