Don’t Let the Angry Ten Percent Control the Direction of Your Church

By Thom S. Rainer

In any organization of size, there are likely angry people. 

They are unhappy with the organization. They don’t like change. They don’t like the leader.

But here’s the catch: In most organizations, they are a distinct minority. I use the quantifier of ten percent more anecdotally than not, but I would conjecture most organizations, including churches, would have a number close to that. 

In churches, I see pastors, again and again, yield to the pressures and criticisms of the ten percent. I get it. I’ve been there and done that. May I suggest some perspectives on this issue? Perspectives are not solutions, but they can help us persevere when the ten percent get really loud.

  • Ten percent can seem like a lot of people. Indeed, if your church has 200 active members, 20 loud critics can seem really loud. Brad Waggoner calls it “the power of negativity.” He says the negative person has a tenfold voice in the organization compared to the neutral and positive people.
  • Realize that the ten percent will take advantage of any forum you give them. They love to speak up in business meetings. They love to be the big voice in listening sessions and surveys. In fact, listening sessions can make the rest of the organization demoralized as the more positive members think the negative people are the norm.
  • The ten percent want you to think there are more of them. They will use phrases like, “Everyone says . . .” or “People are saying . . .” They not only can be negative; they can be downright deceitful.
  • While you want to have open communications, the ten percent will often dominate the rest of the voices in the church. Such is the reason you need to be careful about giving them the platforms and opportunities to spread their negativity.
  • The ten percent love social media. They are often the most vicious when they are hiding behind a keyboard. If you wonder why you are getting sick of social media, it’s because the ten percent live there. They love the megaphone that makes their voices seem louder than they really are.
  • The ten percent often are on church rotations. If they can’t get their way, they will move to another church where they can spread their negativity. Be cautious of people who want to transfer to your church if they have nothing but negative things to say about their current church.
  • The ten percent often lead church splits. They will be happy at their new place  . . . until they don’t get their way completely. They will then be ready to spread their negativity at the new congregation. Such is the reason so few church splits do well.

This overview is just one of many perspectives rather than solutions. If you feel like most people are against you in your church, you are likely wrong. It’s probably the ten percent. But they do have the loudest voices in your congregation.

Posted on January 13, 2020


With nearly 40 years of ministry experience, Thom Rainer has spent a lifetime committed to the growth and health of local churches across North America.
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66 Comments

  • One of the things that I have found that helps to stop splits is to pray proactively. Even if things are going well often pray for the unity of the faith (which is the body of doctrine to be believed), the unity from the Spirit and for humility, as well as other things. I suggest that if we prayed more proactively then we would need to pray less reactively. I also recognize that some difficulties run deep.

  • Steve Rebert says on

    My dear brethern, there is no doubt that weathering the storm costs. It will press upon our families certainly our relationships with the church. I have found that what they sow they reap. At times we are responsible because we have not dealt with things in effective manner there are other times when the natural circle of life in a sinful world means Satan will sow on a regular basis and we must teach our people to be aware of that sowing process. I also have found to our encouragement that God only allows so much time in the years of spiritual famine he will turn it to years of spiritual blessing and progress. God help us to be faithful in this high calling.

  • Outstanding article! The 10% can either make or break a church. You will get along with them as long as you fully agree with their stance. Once you disagree and start doing things the way God has led you, they will turn on you and recruit others to join in. The 10% are the ones that divide a church to the point of starting another and taking people with them. This has happened numerous times in certain denominational churches. I have seen this done more times than I can count. These are also the ones that come to church on Sunday, praise the Lord, and throw their Bible in the backseat or trunk of their car until next Sunday. How sad, but that is what Satan wants and will do anything to tear down the body of Christ. We need to stand up and do what God has called us to do.

  • Four books every pastor (and church board member) should read!

    Failure of Nerve – Edwin Friedman
    Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times – Peter Steinke
    Canoeing the Mountains – Tod Bolsinger and
    5 types of people who can ruin your life – Bill Eddy

    They back up the claims of this post – and give some wise suggestions for dealing with the tendency of some to be ‘peacemongers’ and cater to the discontended angry few.

  • Unfortunately, the negatives don’t comprehend or seem to care about the damage they do, much less about how that kind of attitude stands against the nature of the gospel.

    Even more harmful is when the negatives feel like, or have convinced themselves, that their negativity is somehow advantageous to the church and its mission.

  • We’ve just been through a 2 year revitalization cohort (initiated and supported by our denomination) that ground every sacred cow into hamburger meat. In the process, we lost about 35% of our membership and all of the 10% vocal minority. This church, founded in 1772, is no longer dying. In fact, we are now reaching lost people and seeing de-churched and never-churched people walk through our doors and engage. I can actually say that I now pastor a church where no one would say, “But we’ve always done it that way…” In the midst of horrific pain and conflict (much of it aimed at me) I realized that the issues were so much more than personal preference. Some of the issues are human problems; others are spiritual problems; some are demonic strongholds within our churches, and most are probably a mix. When Christ’s mission for His church is at stake, we must be prepared to engage in spiritual warfare. Ephesians 6:12 is a present day reality. We must learn how to develop prayer cover, how to ask for and rely upon the power of the Holy Spirit, and how to implement the strategies and tactics of intercession and spiritual warfare for overcoming the demonic strongholds and redeeming the people who have been used by Satan as weapons against the church. If the 10% are on the Great Commission Mission, then they need to have a voice. But in my experience, the 10% have a non-mission, personal agenda to maintain the their comfortable status quo. We need to realize that we won’t please everyone, and should only be mindful of pleasing God. Doing nothing allows the stronghold to strengthen and thwarts Kingdom growth. I have discovered the hope and excitement of ministry on the other side of painful, enormous conflict. I pray that some of you will as well!

  • This is a greta post Thom. Regardless of the percentage, these people are present in every church, and they depend of misinformation and false perception. The challenge is balancing the acknowledge/ignore tension. Our experience can cause us to ignore valid concerns of good people, but we must at some point stop acknowledging the input of ungodly people. Our acknowledgment may amplify their voice. Still other times I have called the misinformation out proactively. It often gets to a point you simply can’t ignore it anymore.

  • Steven Palmer says on

    Thank you for writing this. My current church has been as follows: 1 year honeymoon, 4 years of hell, then the last of the anger 10% gave up and finally left. Now, I have seen three years and counting of unity and peace. My answer has been faithful, stubborn, patient perseverance against the angry 10%. It is a hard road but it is worth it if you overcome! The church is pastorable for the first time in 20 to 30 years. We finally have the opportunity for healthy growth. I am thankful I did not quit when I so desperately wanted to. I lived in Proverbs 3:5-6 and the Lord has shown himself faithful over and over again.

  • Mike Armistead says on

    I’ve seen that in many churches, including the one I just left. You would think denominations would try to break that stranglehold, but they don’t. I asked for my Presbytery’s Ministry Partnership Team to come in and deal with all the negativity and resistance on our board, and they sided with the aging and cantankerous board members who were trying to thwart every effort at renewal, outreach, and modernization. That led to congregational vote to terminate the pastoral call – which the congregation voted down. So then the MPT demanded my “voluntary” resignation or any severance would be negated. It is not what I expected from my new evangelical denomination that is supposed to be all about transformation and revitalization. They fed the 10 percent and gave them open forums, and then seemed surprised that the unhappiness spread.

  • Gregory Lynn Ross says on

    Hey pastors/leaders – just a question – was Luther one of the ten percenters? I understand many of you are great pastors/leaders. And you have honorable intentions. One thing I have noticed is that the church has a serious problem regarding education. Why don’t you teach us what you learned in seminary? I’ve wasted much of my life in Sunday schools that “stayed with the bible.” Over and over. Much information/discussion is redundant; the repetition of information is without critical analysis or comprehension. Ramp it up – challenge us. Logic, critical thought, discussion/not lecture. Don’t stifle critical thinking. Develop thinkers and leaders that can engage an intellectual world. This may be why some leave conservative, dogmatic churches.

  • Sociologically any group can count on only 20% for leadership—or perhaps to care enough to get angry or to do the work. 80% are followers—mostly inert in their involvement. They are in it for what they can get out of it for themselves. They go to church to feel good. They resist trouble that asks something of them. They are easy to love, but they aren’t much help.

    Yes, people can be unreasonable. There is greater tendency to be unreasonable when reason is ignored. Don’t focus on the ten percent, but don’t ignore them. They may be on to something and reacting in the only way they can get attention. If you have an angry 10% look for the reasons. Dig deep. Look long. Maybe take them aside and ask them what’s wrong.

    Some of this is already reflected here in other comments—but no pat on the back for them!

  • I’m wondering about the makeup of the angry 10%. The generalization is that 10% of membership do 90% of the work. Are all the 10% negative considered as a whole bad? Does any of that 10% include the 10% who do most of the work? Have the 10% been given a legitimate or easily accessible way to express their concerns? I know I wish that our pastor would have some open discussion times about the church and its activities. I wish that he would ask us the congregation what we feel about the church, the sermons, the activities and what we feel our needs are.