st because we've settled for pleasant relationships when we could be enjoying powerful relationships. What if I told you that as the pastor you could counsel your entire congregation without getting burned out? Just the idea of being able to counsel everyone in the congregation would excite most pastors. In one sense this might also excite the congregation who might say, "Why not talk to our pastor. That's what we pay him to do." The way this could be done is by adopting a Dr. Laura style of counseling. She gets right to the heart of issues and has an answer in 30 seconds or less then is onto the next person. Thinking about having a counseling ministry like hers sounds like a bad joke to most people yet her counseling approach is appealing at the same time. In our quest for "helping" as many people as we can, a quick answer is a tempting solution. As scary as this idea sounds, this type of counseling happens in many legalistic settings. Some things pastors might have said are: "Your problem Mr. Smith is that you are a sinner. Give up your drinking and running around, and God will resolve all of your conflicts." (Adams, pg. 38) "Mr. Jones, the reason you feel guilty is because you've cut up your wife into 1000 pieces. I'm afraid that five Hail Marys are not going to be sufficient enough for this action. You need to repent of your sins!" This reminds me of the two tongue in cheek rules of engineering: (1) if it doesn't work, use a hammer; (2) if it still doesn't work, use a bigger hammer. When a church leader uses a bigger hammer, they usually get disastrous results. This approach to pastoral counseling by counseling the entire congregation alone is not the way to go.
             Another option a pastor has in counseling his sheep is called Brief Therapy. This therapy "focuses on helping people generate solutions." (Oliver, pg. 70) Since the fo...