C.A.V.E. dwellers are people Consistently Against Virtually Everything and they are alive and well in most churches. In fact a recent study by a Gallop guy named Albert Winseman says that 17% of the average church is made up of these "actively disengaged" people.
The troubling observation for me is that church leaders get so accustomed to these people, they take them for granted and live with toxin in culture rather than dealing with it. I am often asked to advise on tactics- worship or small group or technology best practices. Leaders look for right answers to advance their vision. The newsflash is: If you don't know how to deal with CAVE dwellers it doesn't matter how good your tactics might be, because there will always be an enthusiasm drag and energy drain holding the vision back.
Winseman in his book, Growing an Engaged Church, advises. "Your job as a leader is not to placate the actively disengaged. It is to create and grow disciples." His answer is to focus on the engaged- don't get distracted trying to please the squeaky wheels!
But ignoring these negative folks is not enough. Great leaders know how to dialogue with wisdom and grace until one of two things occur. Either disengaged people must convert and eventually become contributors or they must leave (in an effort to find somewhere else they CAN engage.)
It's the leaders choice to let people sing off key, or to bring beautiful harmony into the world.