The Honeymoon

The Honeymoon

When I first started full-time preaching, more than forty years ago, I often heard preachers say something similar to: “Enjoy your honeymoon,” or “You are in that honeymoon stage.” They would tell me that in every new work the preacher would get a honeymoon period for a couple of years where he would get a pass on times he messed up, or when his sermon wasn’t as strong or effective as they wanted it to be. It was almost like, as the preacher you could do whatever you want to do, or not do whatever you don’t want to do, and get away with it during the honeymoon.

Later on in my preaching, I would hear people say that the honeymoon lasted a year or so. A recent article about the life cycle of a preacher said that the honeymoon lasted for zero to six months. That seems astounding to me. Here’s what we all know. Whatever that length of time is, it doesn’t last forever. There comes a time when there is more accountability, more criticism, and more judging when it comes to our schedules, our preaching, and our work.

The question is, how do we keep going when the honeymoon is over in our ministry? When the honeymoon is over, how can we assure ourselves that we won’t quit. Two or three thoughts.

Don’t forget your purpose. One of the reasons we often struggle is because we forget our original purpose. We began this work because we wanted to do God’s Work. It wasn’t because we wanted to make a lot of money, or become famous, or to have an easy, carefree kind of life.

Have at least one person (ideally more) in your life who you can be open and honest with about your struggles. We don’t need to try to navigate the difficulties of ministry on our own.

Spend a lot of time in prayer. Prayer, study, and meditating on God will strengthen us over the long haul. Don’t ever quit talking to God or allowing Him to talk to you.

With these practices and some others, we can happily extend the length of the honeymoon. May God continue to bless you in all you do for Him.