How Many Plates Are You Spinning

Have you ever seen those people on TV who, for an act, try to spin as many plates as they 
can on dowel rods before any of them drop? They place one plate on top of the dowel rod 
and start spinning the first plate. Then, they move over to the second and start spinning 
that one. Now they’re off to the third plate and start spinning that one. And then, before getting to the fourth plate, they have to run back to the first and second and give them 
another quick spin because they started to slow down while spinning plates three and four.

My head’s spinning just explaining this to you.

Well, this applies in real life for so many 
people…especially Senior Pastors. You can only spin a predetermined amount of plates at one time. In other words, 
you can’t have it all at one time. How many ‘plates’ are you spinning? If you feel like what I just described applies to you, there’s a good chance you might need 
a life change. How focused are you on maintaining a balance with ministry, work, family, exercise, fun, and the many other ‘plates’ that exist? To maintain a healthy ministry, you only need to spin 3 plates. If you try to spin too many plates, you’ll have limited time for the more important things.

One of your favorite sayings might be, “Where does all my time go?”

Mastering this is so difficult, because all of the plates you’re trying to spin have a real 
purpose. The real challenge is not just acknowledging that point, but telling yourself that you MUST remove a few plates. Are you willing to do that in order to have balance and control in 
your life? Think about how much stress you’ll eliminate in your life. Trust me, if you don’t do this nothing will change! You choose your battles, and if you don’t you’ll end up overwhelmed, burned out, and eventually quitting. Now, take a moment to see what plates you simply need to eliminate. If you have a hard time doing this, ask yourself ‘why?’. Why do I have such a hard time saying no in this area or to this activity? Will I miss something…I have so many people depending on me…I’m 
concerned what others are going to think about me if I say ‘no’… If you’re having some of these inhibiting thoughts, hopefully you’re now beginning to see that this is an issue between you and YOU! To varying degrees, most ministry leaders are out of position spinning way to many plates: they’re doing the work of others instead of leading others in their work. They are being busy with plates of crisis, chaos, needs, complaints, and problems—all kinds of micro matters. Being busy is not the criteria for success. That’s why I help Senior Pastors create a “stop-doing” list at my LQ CAMP FOR SENIOR PASTORS instead of a “to do” list. It’s time to have some plates removed. Go for it! It will be the best thing you can do to get more of your life back and actually grow your ministry! For more life changing ministry strategies on how to take this to a whole new level join us at my 2014 LQ Camp. You owe 
it to yourself!