10 Church Members Who Drive Me Crazy

By Chuck Lawless

I love the local church.  I really do. Deeply. But, almost every church I know has members and attenders that get under the skin of a leader. Here are 10 of those types of people for me: 

1. The “doom and gloom” member: Nothing ever goes right for this member, and it’s never his or her fault. I don’t even like to see this person coming my way.
2. The “on the edge of leaving” member: He’s always threatening to leave over something – so much so that you learn to ignore his threats (and frankly, wish he would leave)
3. The “amateur theologian” member: This member thinks he knows theology, and he’s always debating something. Usually, he has his own theological stance that he fights to defend and promote.
4. The “Did you know?” member: He wants to be “in the know” about everything in the church. In fact, he’s involved in almost all of the church’s gossip and gets angry when he’s out of the loop.
5. The “recommitment” member: She shows up about every six months, recommits her life to Jesus, and then disappears for the next six months.
6. The “constitutional lawyer” member: Nobody knows the church constitution like this member does, and he brings out the documents any time he doesn’t like something.
7. The “internet sermon troll” member: He listens to everybody else’s sermons online, and then critiques my sermons in light of others. Indeed, he listens for errors more than for truth and application for himself.
8. The “nostalgia freak” member: She knows…