When preaching becomes therapy

I have had the occasion of ministering to someone's 'felt need' and it
is intoxicating stuff.
It's enough to make me never say a discouraging word to anyone.
So when I was given a pulpit from which to speak, I widened my topic
to address the congregation's 'felt need' and boy that was really
intoxicating!
Some people cried and others came to me after to tell me how they had
never heard anyone speak so deeply into their lives before.
I was addicted to doing therapy!
And so the next sermon I preached included stories about my wife and
kids (where in the name of humility I'm typically the fall guy) and
unforgettable anecdotes. I could feel the congregation in the palm of
my hand, like a little lamb and I caressed them with the gentle words
of God's love and they opened their arms to receive it and the church
offering went through the roof and I was really addicted. GIVE ME THAT PULPIT!
It was enough to make me never say an offending word to anyone even if it meant ignoring all the offensive things Jesus said. No way I was
ever going to say anything about 'God being a consuming fire'.
No wonder most of our congregations live with a Sunday School sized
god. Just the right size to make sure we never fear Him.
If we are ever to get beyond the Sunday Service as therapy, we its
therapists will have to get back to preaching again and leave the
therapy to Oprah and Dr. Phil.
We will have to sacrifice our addiction to being 'felt needed' for the
truth.
For many of us, it will be a harder addiction to break from than
heroin, requiring major detox i.e. repentance.