Have you ever been in a Lodge where the immediate Past Masters seem to routinely vanish? I have. In fact, I have seen quite a few Lodges where it seems to be customary for the Past Masters to disappear. No, I do not believe an "accident" has befallen them, but you have to wonder why they no longer take an interest in the Lodge. Did they burn themselves out during their year in the East? Were they there to simply get their Past Master's apron and no longer care about the Lodge?

I have a theory on this phenomenon; basically, I believe the more successful Past Masters return to the Lodge to support it, and the less effective PM's lose interest and drop out of sight. I have seen this far too often to believe it is just a coincidence. Those Worshipful Masters who worked hard and had what was considered a good year return to Lodge, if for no other reason, to make sure the programs they instituted during their year are perpetuated. They come to Lodge to offer counsel to their successors and becuase they truly enjoy attending Lodge with their Brothers. On the other hand, the dysfunctional Worshipful Masters cannot wait for their year to end and pass the hot potato over to someone else. This type of person either believes he did a good job which nobody appreciated, or feels his officers and the Craft abandoned him.

I attribute the problems of the dysfunctional Worshipful Master to our election process where we hang on to our antiquated policy of progressing through the chairs. Becuase of this, I have seen Brothers too often rise above their level of competency. Let me give you an example, I know of a Brother in the western United States who, when called upon, heartily volunteered to be a steward. He was happy with the position and did a great job working in the kitchen. And he would have been happy to continue serving in that capacity, but he was encouraged by others to move up the line of deacons, wardens, and finally Worshipful Master. By his own admission, he had a bad year as Master and wished he had remained a steward, but due to the tradition of the chairs, he found himself in a position he wasn't comfortable in.

The antithesis of the Lodges with the disappearing Masters are those Lodges where there are more Past Masters than ordinary Brothers. Its nice to have the participation of the Past Masters, but if there are no ordinary Brothers sitting on the sidelines, I see this as a danger sign. There are those Lodges where the Past Masters simply rotate through the East in order to perpetuate the Lodge. Sounds admirable right? Maybe. But it also sounds rather incestuous. I see this as a sign of stagnation and the Lodge should start thinking about cultivating a new crop of officers if it wants to remain a viable institution.

This brings up a point, we also have to be wary of those Past Masters who do not relinquish control over the Lodge gracefully. Some overstay their welcome in an attempt to maintain control over the Lodge. Occasionally this is done out of necessity, but a lot of times it is done to pacify someone's ego. We should never lose sight of the fact that this is a volunteer organization. Its not about control; its about "who best can work, and best agree."

Keep the Faith.

Article reprinted with permission of the author and "http://www.freemasoninformation.com/"