The Best Advice I Got as a Senior Pastor

In 2001 I became a senior pastor of a church - Crossroads Church in Amsterdam. I was in that role for five years. Before taking the position I asked several senior pastors what advice they would give me as I entered into this new role. One bit of counsel stuck with me.
       "Find a very good therapist and start seeing him regularly," said one of the pastors.
       "But I'm not that messed up!" I protested. "I wouldn't know what to talk about with such a person?"
       The pastor responded, "Well, first of all, you probably ARE that messed up but don't know it. And if you are NOT very messed up you will be within a year of becoming a senior pastor."
       He was right on both counts - I discovered that I AM that messed up, and became even more messed up being a senior pastor.
       Since 2001 I have been helped by two exceptional therapists - one in Holland and the other in Denver. Over those 10 years I have regularly seen a therapist for more than half that time.
       Perhaps you are reading this and saying, "Phew, I'm glad I'm not screwed up like Brian is!" But if you are still reading, I have three considerations for you about this:
       First, I truly want to finish well in life and ministry and need help with my psychological/emotional well-being. I cannot do this on my own;
       Second, I have spoken with senior pastors who seek counseling because they feel like they (the pastor) has been victimized by an elder board, congregation, or denomination. So they find a counselor who often validates their victimization. This is a bad bad use of a counselor;
       Third, "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Being a senior pastor can be heady stuff, and is not grounded very well in reality. People sometimes confuse a pastor's giftedness and talent with his or her character and inner life. I have found that a good counselor helps mitigate against this phenomenon.
       I don't have a lot of this figured out, but I do know that two therapists have helped me a whole lot on my journey over the past decade and I am grateful for them.