Mark T. Ronn, 32°, K.C.C.H.
3101 E. Spruce, Garden City, Kansas 67846–8447
ronnm_1999@yahoo.com

"You new guys sure have it easy! I had to learn a lot more work back in the old days!" "Well, you new guys should've been around in the old days when Masonry was really something!" "I just don't think there'll be a Lodge for too many more years." "Things have changed too much for the Lodge to survive."

In comments like these, I heard the death knell of Masonry during the first years of my Masonic life. I know a few good men who believed this prediction and just went away. They had better things to do than deal with a group made up of members certain Masonry was dying. For those Brothers who kept forecasting the death of Masonry, it soon died. They fell victim to an insidious problem—the self-fulfilling prophecy. Masonry died for them because they believed Masonry was dying. It's just that simple. Worse yet, some of these doomsday Brethren took others with them out of the Craft.

Nearly as bad, these negative Brothers got in the way before they left of the creative "new guys," those who still have hope for a dynamic, viable, and growing Fraternity. It's easy to predict doom. "New guys" don't really need or want to hear it. We have found that one person willing to do something can take a lot of the fence sitters along with him. The old saying about lighting a candle rather than cursing the darkness was never truer.

Had we "new guys" listened to the doom-and-gloom set, we never would have tried any of the things that have worked: prospect nights, community involvement, new social groups, interest clubs, special activities, and so on. Admittedly, some of these initiatives failed, providing some with another opportunity to say "We told you so," or "We tried that back in the 1960s or '70s, or '80s, and it didn't work then either." Having tried something once a few years or even decades ago doesn't free us from the responsibility to try again or to try something different. We have learned from the things that didn't work, and our Fraternity is stronger for the ones that have worked.

Let's take the lessons we need from the bad times in our past, set them aside in the archives, and move on. If we want to rest on our laurels, we first better make sure we have some new ones to rest on—laurels we've earned ourselves. The laurels earned by our beloved, fallen Brothers are occupied. We have little right to claim them.

We would ask that you longer-service Brothers do us "new guys" a favor. Keep the ideas, assistance, and good memories coming, but keep the pessimism to yourselves. Also, being a "new guy" is a state of mind, not a statement of how long you have carried a Masonic dues card. The "new guys" are a pretty diverse lot. We've got Brothers who have been Masons less than a year. We've also got Brothers with 25-year pins or longer, with hair that's gray to sparse, and with 33° insignia on their jackets. The "new guy" title has more to do with flexibility of mind and willingness to adapt and change than with anything else.

It is time to realize things will never be the same as they were before. They never are. They can't be. The only constant is change, and Masonry is changing. This is a fact, and we can all safely stop arguing now about whether or not Masonry can or should change. It has. It will. Do yourself and Masonry in your area a favor. Become a "new guy" and get busy helping to make that change happen in a positive way!

We all have our reasons for being Masons. If your reason is to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem, welcome to the ranks of the "new guys." Get involved again and let us hear something like: "This reminds me of the old days. Lodge was fun then, too!" "I really like the way things are going around here lately! Need any help?"

Your positive participation can make all the difference!

Mark T. Ronn was born in Nebraska in 1961, grew up in Wisconsin, graduated with a BA in Anthropology in 1985 from the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay, and is now an Administrative Dean at Garden City High School in Garden City, Kansas. He received his Master's Degree in Educational Administration from Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas, in July 2000. Raised in Tyrian Lodge No. 246, Garden City, Kansas, in 1994, he served as Master of his Lodge in 1998 and was appointed D.D.G.M. of the 39th District of Kansas for 2000. A member of the Valley of Wichita, Kansas, since 1994, he received the K.C.C.H. in 1999 and now serves as Secretary of the Southwest Kansas Scottish Rite Club. He is a member of Midian Shrine in Wichita and of the Santa Fe Trail Shrine Club.