Author: Darin Lahners

Gen X and other generations are still alive! AKA We need to change Freemasonry’s paradigm!

by Darin

Darin A. Lahners Is something wrong, she said Well, of course, there is You’re still alive, she said Oh, and do I deserve to be Is that the question And if so…if so…who answers…who answers… -Pearl Jam “Alive” A recent blog post by the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite declared millennials as the target generation for Freemasonry. (https://scottishritenmj.org/blog/millennials-and-freemasonry) As a proud Gen-Xer, I can only say that tracks.  There is a reason that Generation X is called the “Forgotten Generation,” and the NMJ AASR just proved it.  While the birth years might vary between definitions, I accept anyone born between 1965 and 1982 as a member of Gen-X. Generation X is nestled between the Baby Boomers and Millennials, with each of our neighboring generations having about 5 to 10 million more members. Generation X is often called the Latchkey Generation or the Feral Generation. Many of us, including me, came home after school and let ourselves into an empty locked house. This was due to being raised in single-parent homes or homes where both parents were working, and well before the days when there were ample after-school child care options. During the summer, we were often feral,

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Freemasonry goeth to his long home

Freemasonry goeth to his long home

by Darin

Jon Ruark Most people know me as the data guy who forecasted the end of Freemasonry around the year 2040. A few days ago, someone reached out to me and asked: “What do you consider as the demise or end state of the fraternity? No more Masons or no more grand lodges?  What does 2040 look like? ” As someone who works professionally as a facilitator, I often lead groups through an exercise known as a “premortem” — a strategic tool where we imagine a future failure and then work backward to understand how it happened. It helps teams clarify risks, blind spots, and patterns that are often invisible in the present. I had never thought to apply that to my doomsday clock as well. I won’t attempt to offer any solutions here, as the variety of solutions to “Save Masonry” are context-dependent, but instead will paint a somewhat depressing, but probably realistic view of what that decline will look like. 2025–2030: Signs of Structural Stress By the mid-2020s, the reality of Freemasonry’s long-anticipated decline becomes inescapable. In lodge after lodge, membership dwindles to a shadow of what it once was. The average age of a Mason climbs into the

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Are Masonic Libraries and Archives a Joke?

by Darin

Patrick Dey It would be without question that the first and foremost purpose of a library, archive, and/or museum would be for preservation of the documents and items. The second fundamental purpose is to ensure these preserved documents are accessible to researchers. The former ensures that the latter is possible, and the latter ensures a utility for the former. Why bother preserving anything if no one can have access to it? If I were to give any advice to someone doing Masonic research, I would say to start at your public library. Unless you are looking for something incredibly niche and particular, such as membership records or maybe some original documents from a Past Grand Master, your best bet is to go to the public library. In my experience, lodges and Grand Lodge libraries are a waste of time. Unless you have unfettered access to a lodge or Grand Lodge library and archive, you will likely have an easier time getting something through the public library. Some years ago, I was looking for a lodge history book. I reached out to that lodge, but knowing from experience that getting a response may take a long time, if they respond at

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State of the Masonic Fraternity: You’re Not Running Out of Time – You’re Out of It.

by Darin

Mark St. Cyr Over the last few years, I’ve been quite vocal on my displeasure with the inner workings of the Masonic Fraternity when it comes to its central theme: Making Good Men Better.   When I hear this, it’s always presented in a very matter-of-fact, clear statement from either a  Brother or an advertisement piece. Here’s what seems to be never asked in response:  “Great, how exactly do you do this at your Lodge?” The reason for this near certainty that it’s never asked is when I do precisely that— the awkward silence that follows is deafening.  Another curiosity revolving around this topic is when I overhear (or read) someone commenting on how much better the Fraternity is going about “advertising” itself. Again, when I ask,  “Great, what program are you speaking of?” They reflexively state the “Not a Man, a Mason”  campaign. If I then follow up with a clarifying statement such as “You are aware that was not a  Grand Lodge (GL) endeavor, but actually a Scottish Rite one?” I get looks like I just insulted someone’s mother. I can list far more examples, but for the sake of brevity, I’ll just leave it there. I believe you

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