Christian Discernment has a very revealing article on the subject, explaining how unbiblical it is to charge for counseling, why it is the normal duty of pastors to counsel biblically, and without charges within the church, and without integrating secular worldly psychological methodologies.
By inference, we have been wondering how many pastors instead bow out of messy traditional "soul care" encounters and refer congregants to outside counselors for paid services. What kinds and amounts of kickbacks/referral fees do these "poorly paid" and under-appreciated/ un-appreciated, narcissistic pastors receive? Do they report this income? Have you ever seen these "referral fees" listed in any church annual report under "pastoral remuneration"? Are they instead deftly itemized under "tithes and offerings" and offset by the "bank charges/bounced check" expense category?
See: http://www.christiandiscernment.com/Christian%20Discernment/CD%20PDF/Theology%20pdf/Fees%20Counseling%20Paper.pdf.
