How to Deal with Poisonous Parishioners

Wah, wah, wah! Murmur, murmur, murmur. Grumble, grumble, grumble.

Every church has ‘em — whiners, complainers, gossipers, and backbiters. It’s enough to drive a leader looney! What’s even more challenging is determining when and how to respond to these toxic church members. It’s more of an art than a science. But it’s part of a pastor’s job. For clarity purposes, I define the duties of the Senior Pastor as LEAD, FEED and sometimes WEED.

• LEAD the body to fulfill the mission and vision of the church.

• FEED the body with a healthy balanced diet from God’s word.

• And when necessary, WEED (protect) the body from cancers that can harm the body.

Over the years, I’ve learned to gauge my level of response based on their influence level.

You only have so much energy and focus for leadership. You must choose wisely where and how you will expend it. I recommend that a healthy leader spend 80-90% of their time and energy on healthy, life-giving tasks like dreaming, vision casting, sermon planning and preparation, empowering leaders, discipling new believers, engaging the community, and the list goes on! Of course, no leader can or should avoid the unpleasant tasks of leadership. It comes with the job. BUT, if you chase every whiner, you’ll end up burned out and bitter. Don’t let little people drag you down; choose what to chase. So how do I respond to the negative Neds or Nancies? First, I have to determine if it is feedback or blowback.

Feedback is when I need to learn.

Blowback is when I need to discern.

If it seems to fit more in the latter than the former, I respond based on the person’s influence and the nature of the negativity.

Here are 3 general responses:

1. Ignore them.

The first step is to discern whether this is coming from maliciousness or immaturity. Often negative people are just members who have not yet matured. Since part of my job is to LEAD and FEED, perhaps, they just need some time to grow.

In the meantime, how should I handle their negativity?

Nehemiah serves us well on this one. While he is working on God’s mission, his enemies are working on his nerves. In chapter 6, his detractors attempt to become his distracters! I love his response in verse 3:

“so I replied by sending this message to them: “I am engaged in a great work, so I can’t come. Why should I stop working to come and meet with you?”” (Nehemiah 6:3, NLT)

Man, I crack up every time I read this. Basically, Nehemiah is saying, “I’m working on something more important than you.”

I would say about 80% of the time; the best response is no response. I’ve found that when you give a whiner your time, it only encourages them to waste even more of it.

2. Confront them.

When the scope of influence or the nature of the complaint has the potential to spread toxicity, then I step in.

As Barney Fife would say, “You’ve got to nip it! Nip it in the bud!”

Paul summarizes a senior pastor’s duties in the verse below:

Correction is a part of a pastor’s job. I like the old English word: Reprove. Webster defines reprove: “to scold or correct usually gently or with kindly intent.”

Thinking that you can make disciples without ever reproving them is as silly as believing you can parent children without correction. Everyone needs a dose of discipline now and then.

Pastor, if you shy away from correcting troublemakers, you are like a doctor treating cancer with a placebo. You must care more for the body than your own discomfort.

No one likes confrontation, but without it, churches will crumble from within. The truth is most troublemakers are cowards. Many will back down if you simply call them out.

When I was being bullied at school, I remember my dad telling me, “Son, bullies are cowards hoping no one will ever call their hand. Stand up to him, and he’ll probably stand down.”

“But what if he beats me up?” I asked.

“Well then,” dad said, “make it a fight he won’t enjoy, and he’ll probably never pick it again.”

Dad was right.

3. Discipline them.

There are, however, periodically troublemakers that do not respond to confrontation. Instead, they increase their vitriol.

How do you handle incessant inciters?

You’ve got to cut out the cancer.

It’s my personal belief that church discipline is primarily reserved for this category of sin.

In the book of Proverbs Solomon identifies seven sins God especially hates. Number seven states:

Thankfully, Jesus provided a detailed step-by-step process for handling toxic members in Matthew 18:15-17.

If the person remains unresponsive and continues to sow discord, it’s time to politely invite them to find a church where they can be happy.

Sadly, I’ve had to follow this process a few times over the decades I’ve served as a pastor. It’s never enjoyable. It’s incredibly heartbreaking and always difficult. However, I care more about the health of the body than the pain of the process. The church matters too much to allow a poisonous parishioner to distract, disturb and destroy our mission. You cannot surrender the mission of the church to whiners.

What are your thoughts?