Thinking about becoming a Mason?
Here’s the first thing most people don’t know: nobody is going to invite you. We’re not allowed to recruit. Every Mason you’ve ever met — every one, going back centuries — became a Mason the same way: he asked.
There’s even a bumper sticker about it: 2B1ASK1. To be one, ask one.
I asked in 1992. Thirty-plus years later I’ve served as Master of my Lodge, led a Shrine temple of six hundred members, and made friends on every step of that road that I’d trust with anything I own. This page is me being the Mason you can ask.
Honest answers to the questions you’re actually wondering about
What is Freemasonry, in plain English?
It’s the world’s oldest fraternity — a brotherhood of men who work at becoming better versions of themselves, using the tools and traditions of the old stonemason guilds as teaching symbols. We meet in a Lodge, we support each other, we raise money for charity, and we take promises seriously. That’s the whole secret: it’s a school for character that’s been running for three hundred years.
Is it a religion?
No. Freemasonry requires that you believe in a Supreme Being, but it doesn’t tell you who that is or how to worship. Christians, Jews, Muslims, and men of other faiths sit in the same Lodge room. Two topics are off-limits in Lodge precisely because they divide men who should be brothers: religion and politics. In an age when everything is one or the other, I’ve come to treasure that rule.
What about the conspiracy theories?
I’ll give you the same answer I give from the podium. I once wrote a talk tracing how the Knights Templar invented an early form of international banking — and the first thing I did was debunk the popular myth that the Templars secretly became the Bank of England. They didn’t. Real history is better than the fiction.
Freemasonry doesn’t run the world. I’ve been in the room where the “secret decisions” get made. We were deciding on a pancake breakfast.
What actually happens at a meeting?
About what happens at any well-run civic organization, conducted with more ceremony: minutes, bills, charity planning, degree work (the ritual lessons we confer on new members), and then — the real reason everyone came — coffee and fellowship afterward. The ritual is dignified, memorized, and centuries old. Nothing in it will embarrass you or conflict with your conscience. That’s a promise Masons have kept since before this country existed.
What does it cost, and how much time does it take?
Each Lodge sets its own fees and annual dues, so I won’t quote numbers that may be stale — ask the Lodge you visit; they’ll tell you plainly. As a rough guide, it’s comparable to a modest club membership, not a country club.
Time is the honest cost. A Lodge typically meets once or twice a month, and learning the degree material takes real effort — I’ve used the same memorization techniques I once used for IT certifications. You get out of it exactly what you put in. I’ve found that’s true of everything worth doing.
What are the requirements?
You must be a man of at least 18 years (in Florida), believe in a Supreme Being, be of good character, and come of your own free will. The Lodge will verify character the old-fashioned way: they’ll get to know you, and a committee will sit down and talk with you and your family. Residency rules vary by state — the Lodge will walk you through the details.
What’s the deal with the Shriners and the red fezzes?
Shriners are Masons — the Shrine is an appendant body you can join after becoming a Master Mason. It’s the fun-loving branch with the parades, the little cars, and the fezzes, and behind all of it stands Shriners Children’s: a network of hospitals providing pediatric care regardless of a family’s ability to pay. I served as Potentate of Sahib Shriners in Sarasota in 2025. The parades are a blast. The children are the point.
The path, in three steps
1. Ask. Talk to a Mason — me, via the form below, or any man wearing a square-and-compasses ring. Visit a Lodge dinner. No commitment; dinner guests are how this has worked forever.
2. Petition. When you’re ready, you fill out a petition and two Masons sign it. A committee visits with you, and the Lodge votes.
3. The degrees. You receive the three degrees — Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, Master Mason — over a few months. Each one is a lesson you’ll spend the rest of your life unpacking.
Where to start near Sarasota and Bradenton
- Phoenix Lodge No. 346, F&AM — Sarasota, FL. My Lodge; I served as Worshipful Master in 2008. Come for a dinner.
- Grand Lodge of Florida lodge locator — grandlodgefl.com — find the Lodge nearest you anywhere in Florida.
- Sahib Shriners — Sarasota, FL — sahibshrine.org — once you’re a Master Mason.
Not in Florida? Every US state and most countries have a Grand Lodge with a locator. Ask me and I’ll point you to the right one.
Ask your question
Every Mason’s journey started with a single question. This form comes straight to me, and I answer every one — no mailing list, no follow-up campaign, no obligation. Just an answer from a Brother.
I’ve spent thirty years in this fraternity, and the strangest secret I can tell you is this: the mystery everyone wants to uncover is just men trying to keep their word, show up for each other, and leave the world a little better than they found it. If that sounds like something you’ve been looking for — ask.