WarriorProphet
Registered User
Hey brothers,
In light of many changes both cultural and legally within masonry it strikes me that the ages for DeMolay membership may need revision.
My first point is simply that the age for entry into Texas Masonry has been lowered. At the onset you needed to be 21 years of age, hence allowing DeMolay membership until 20 supported an easy transition for the young man to blue lodge on his 21st birthday. The age for blue lodge entry has since been lowered to 18. While we still want to make sure there are good leaders available to DeMolay in senior aged boys it seems that so much overlap is still a waste. Based on this alone I would point to a similar adjustment, allowing young men to enter DeMolay at the age of 10 and stay until the day of their 19th birthday.
My second point may be even more extreme. In our society today the age of decision is being pushed much younger than it has been in centuries, and arguably even earlier than bible times. Children are making moral and life path decisions at ages of 10 and younger. Even sexual choice and orientation beginning to change as young as 8. I have worked closely with both youth groups and childrens ministry at church ever since I was in high school. In the beginning we knew that those who had not made a life choice towards a life committed to those beliefs was about 13-16. Now since I have grown and many of my peers already have multiple children the children's ministry experts point out that this age has migrated to as early as 6-8. Meaning if by age 8 a child is not already well committed and trained to a certain moral standard, then they will be bombarded by media, peers, and the like to engage in darker things.
I know not enough about DeMolay to suggest that a 6 year old should be initiated and trained up in it, but I think it is clear that age 12 is simply too late.
Anyhow, I mean this only to spark discussion, I myself am not an expert, just a concerned observer.
In light of many changes both cultural and legally within masonry it strikes me that the ages for DeMolay membership may need revision.
My first point is simply that the age for entry into Texas Masonry has been lowered. At the onset you needed to be 21 years of age, hence allowing DeMolay membership until 20 supported an easy transition for the young man to blue lodge on his 21st birthday. The age for blue lodge entry has since been lowered to 18. While we still want to make sure there are good leaders available to DeMolay in senior aged boys it seems that so much overlap is still a waste. Based on this alone I would point to a similar adjustment, allowing young men to enter DeMolay at the age of 10 and stay until the day of their 19th birthday.
My second point may be even more extreme. In our society today the age of decision is being pushed much younger than it has been in centuries, and arguably even earlier than bible times. Children are making moral and life path decisions at ages of 10 and younger. Even sexual choice and orientation beginning to change as young as 8. I have worked closely with both youth groups and childrens ministry at church ever since I was in high school. In the beginning we knew that those who had not made a life choice towards a life committed to those beliefs was about 13-16. Now since I have grown and many of my peers already have multiple children the children's ministry experts point out that this age has migrated to as early as 6-8. Meaning if by age 8 a child is not already well committed and trained to a certain moral standard, then they will be bombarded by media, peers, and the like to engage in darker things.
I know not enough about DeMolay to suggest that a 6 year old should be initiated and trained up in it, but I think it is clear that age 12 is simply too late.
Anyhow, I mean this only to spark discussion, I myself am not an expert, just a concerned observer.