Pastoral Burnout and Pauline Strength

In the mid-2010s, America entered what I call the "negative world." What this means is that for the first time in the 400-year history of the United States, elite American society came to have a publicly "negative" view of Christianity and its teachings. This has had profound effects on the nature of Christian ministry. One of them we already see clearly: greater pressure and stress on pastors. Negative world ministry requires pastors with Pauline toughness -- both mental and emotional -- as well as new approaches to structuring ministry.