Here are two unique reasons I have been told that people were leaving our church:
Pastor was wearing shorts
Pastor was “caught” playing Pokemon video game with younger sibling (I’m the oldest of 7)

i heard of people leaving a church because they replaced the wooden pulpit that had a cross on it with a clear plexi-glass pulpit.

Because the church used “foam” cups for the coffee time and a brand of toilet tissue they did not consider “friendly to the environment.” We even had a recycling container out to place the used foam cups in. What next --- recycle the toilet paper?

I served a church where we lost a couple who were offended that I shook their hands with my left hand rather than my right.

Get this.  Someone complained and left because the Senior Pastor took a vacation.  We’ve also heard, “No Pastor...no tithe” on times when he is gone or we’ve had a guest speaker.  I guess Gary Smalley isn’t good enough for some people.

I thinks it time we do church like this:

http://sermonspice.com/catalog/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=me+church&413=1

In today’s church there is no commitment. Maybe becasue there is no persecution, in other words, church is too easy! Well its kind of sad, and we should all remember it wasn’t easy for the Acts church to get started. It cost a lot of people there lives. We should focus less on “churchy stuff” and more on the author and leader of our Church!

I am currently serving a church (been here going on 4 years) and some of the members are upset that I have worked hard and lost 150 lbs. I now am getting comments like, “Don’t like having a sex kitten for a pastor,” or “if I was 30 years younger I’d give your husband a run for his money,” and my “favorite,” since you lost all that fat you aren’t as friendly/good listener/pretty/good preacher/teacher/mother/wife/women’s pastor/fill in blank....as you were before you lost the weight. (Note: the comments about being a wife and mother DO NOT come from my husband or kids.) Or how about this one: “Now that you’re skinny, I can’t come to church because I can’t stand the thought of you and your husband having sex.” I was happily married before they called me. Other female clergy get this one while they are pregnant. I have a friend who even had a couple leave because they knew she would be breast feeding...Urggggh!!!

One woman in my first church wouldn’t come to church for over two years, because I spoke too long with another parishioner at the door following the service.  She didn’t want to wait to shake my hand, and pushed past us without saying a word.  I didn’t know it for several weeks, and calls to her went unanswered, but she told everyone loud and long about how unfriendly I was.

In one pastorate in a semi-rural area, I was preaching about the disciples on the sea of Galilee “rowing against the wind.” I said that sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we feel that we are rowing against the wind and we are tempted to shake our fist toward heaven and shout, “God, life sucks!” When several people gasped, I knew I was in trouble.  They did not leave, but several of them thought that a preacher who would “cuss” in church should leave. (I didn’t leave...)