As a leader, how do I know when too much is happening too soon?

What Do I Monitor?

God’s Direction
Look for his invitations.  His leading is not mystical in the least.  He will not direct you anywhere he has not gone before you already.  Simply look / listen / sense your way forward for the giant footsteps in the snow. Look for the obvious direction of God’s Spirit.
Your Heart
“Oh leader, my leader…” 
You are the lightning rod of God locally.  Don’t allow anyone to talk you out of your critical role on the local scene.  You are the key to what God is doing and what he has in mind to do. 
Your Spouse
Assuming for a moment that your spouse is in good shape emotionally, that is, her / his emotional pendulum is not swinging way out of sync, God has given your mate as an amazing gift.  Leadership was never meant to be a one person, single dimension arrangement.  Listen to your better half.  Most “Eager Beaver” leaders have a hard time listening to their spouses, but wisdom over time says something different. 
The Fun Factor
When the fun lowers across the board, people are feeling like what used to be fun has become more like work, this is a sure sign of the too much too soon occurring.  Keep a close eye on the fun factor meter. 

What Do I Ignore?
Sometimes Staff
Some reading this will say, “But I don’t have staff yet.”  Yes you do!  We all have staff.  Perhaps they aren’t paid, but you have a team of “staff” people hanging out.

I have dropped the word “staff” – it sounds like the "staf" infection that nearly killed me several years ago – no kidding!  Two-thirds of those who get a "staf" infection don’t recover, or if they do, they end up losing body parts in the effort to save the patient.  If you’ve been a leader for long, that’s an interesting metaphor to ponder. 

I have traded up for “Talent Team.”  You have a talent team as well. God has deposited various talents in those who surround you.  They are a huge part of why you are making progress.  Some of your talent team are reliable barometers to gauge the pace of change.  Others are vision impaired and will nearly always play the role of Eeyore (cf. Winnie The Pooh) and whine.  Listen to the “Tiggers” who are moving forward with you.

Sometimes Your Board
Rarely are boards a good litmus test of being able to tell how much, how soon change ought to take place.  If I’ve heard it once I’ve heard it countless times – a paraphrase of the sentiment, “But we’re not ready yet for what you’re talking about…” 

When I train churches to turn outwardly, it is obvious that if all works as usual, people will begin to appear – something that hasn’t occurred in ever so long in a given church. One would think that is a good thing, right? Nay, nay – not so for church boards!  Rarely is it an exception that a board is made up of primarily Casper Milktoast clones.  That is, the ones with the willies about anything the might possibly happen. They all have a bad case of the “what if’s.” The assumption is constantly that God will not show up when we need him to…that it is just us trying our best without any divine intervention.

Run With Those Who Get It
By far and away, the listen to the ones who will tell you the most about the rate of change – if it is possibly happening a bit too quickly…listen, watch, connect with them. Hopefully as I mention this term you know of whom I refer to in your own congregation. 

Don’t stop the change that is being ushered in. At the most, simply slow it down a bit while people catch their breath. If you allow people to intimidate you such that change halts, getting that change flywheel running again is a challenge you don’t want to deal with.