John, thank you for your post, I really enjoyed reading it. It sounds like an average of six to seven hours of lay/pastoral counseling is a lot, on top of your other obligations as a senior pastor. You've said that most of your lay/pastoral counseling is mostly about demonstrating your well-developed listening skills to people and their problems. According to our reading from a few weeks ago, good and attentive listening is vital to the counseling process. It's my experience, sometimes; some people are just looking for someone to listen to them. Have you observed this too? Have you ever noticed; some clients come to your office, just to vent; especially since you are the senior pastor? Sometimes, though, not often, it seems that attention, as well as the opportunity to let off steam, is all the customer is looking for. You also stated various reasons why you consult so many hours, which have to do with where you serve as a senior pastor. I agree when you suggested that one of the factors contributing to the amount of counseling is because you are the senior pastor; however, speaking with various...