“JONATHAN LEEMAN WROTE THE FOLLOWING parable as an introduction to Mark Dever’s book, ‘What Is A Healthy Church?’

Nose and Hand were sitting in the church pew talking. The morning service, led by Ear and Mouth, had just ended, and Hand was telling Nose that he and his family had decided to look for a different church.

‘Really?’ Nose responded to Hand’s news. ‘Why?’

‘Oh, I don’t know,’ Hand said, looking down. He was usually slower to speak than other members of the church body. ‘I guess because the church doesn’t have what Mrs. Hand and I are looking for.’

‘Well, what are you looking for in a church?’ Nose asked. The tone in which he spoke these words was sympathetic. But even as he was speaking them he knew he would dismiss Hand’s answer. If the Hands couldn’t see that Nose and the rest of the leadership were pointing the church body in the right direction, the body could do without them.

Hand had to think before answering. He and Mrs. Hand liked Pastor Mouth and his family. And Minister of Music Ear meant well. ‘Well, I guess we’re looking for a place where people are more like us,’ Hand finally stammered. ‘We tried spending time with the Legs, but we didn’t connect with them. Next we joined the small group for all the Toes. But they kept talking about socks and shoes and odors. And that didn’t interest us.’

Nose looked at him this time with genuine dismay: ‘Aren’t you glad they’re concerned with odors?!’

‘Sure, sure. But it’s not for us. Then, we attended the Sunday school for all you facial features. Do you remember? We came for several Sundays a couple of months ago?’

‘It was great to have you.’

‘Thank you. But everyone just wanted to talk, and listen, and smell, and taste. It felt like, well, it felt like you never wanted to get to work and get your hands dirty. Anyway, Mrs. Hand and I were thinking about checking out that new church over on East Side. We hear they do a lot of clapping and hand-raising, which is closer to what we need right now.’

‘Hmmm,’ Nose replied. ‘I see what you mean. We’d hate to see you go. But I guess you have to do what’s good for you.’

At that moment, Mrs. Hand, who had been caught up in another conversation, turned back to join her husband and Nose. Hand briefly explained what he and Nose had been talking about, after which Nose repeated his sadness at the prospect of losing the Hands. But he again said that he understood since it sounded like their needs weren’t being met.

Mrs. Hand nodded in agreement. She wanted to be polite, but truth be told, she wasn’t sad to be leaving. Her husband had made just enough critical remarks about the church over the years that her heart had begun to reflect his. No, he had never burst into an open tirade against the body. In fact, he usually apologized for ‘being so negative,’ as he put it. But the little complaints that he let slip out here and there had had an effect. The small groups were a little cliquish. The music was a little out of date. The programs did seem a little silly. The teaching wasn’t entirely to their liking. In the end, it was hard for the two of them to put their fingers on it, but they finally decided that the church wasn’t for them.

In addition to all that, Mrs. Hand knew that their daughter Pinkie was not comfortable with the youth group. Everyone was so different from her, she felt out of joint.

Mrs. Hand then said something about how much she appreciated Nose and the leadership. But the conversation had already run on too long for Nose. Besides, her perfume made him want to sneeze. He thanked Mrs. Hand for her encouragement, repeated that he was sorry to hear of their departure, then turned and walked away. Who needed the Hands? Apparently, they didn’t need him.

Have you ever been in a situation like this? If you are Nose, what do you say to someone like Mr. and Mrs. Hand? Have you ever felt that almost self-defensive response that concludes, ‘Well, we don’t need you’? Or, if you are Mr. and Mrs. Hand, what could be said to you to help you through these issues? Your needs are not being met, so how should you think about the church? What are your needs exactly? Given the Bible’s teaching regarding the church, are your issues and needs really legitimate? What are you looking for in a church? For that matter, what do you think the church is?…”

Thabiti M. Anyabwile. ‘The Life of God in the Soul of the Church’ (Kindle Locations 490-535). Christian Focus Publications Ltd.. 

“…Were Mr. and Mrs. Hand right to look for another church because they did not fit in or because they disliked some aspect of the public service? Was Nose right to conclude, ‘We don’t need you’? Both were wrong according to the Bible. We are the body of Christ, arranged by God, with every member playing a necessary part. Were you feeling or thinking like Nose or like the Hands when you started reading this chapter? Have you changed your mind? I pray that you would see how indispensable you are to everyone in your church according to God’s design.”

Thabiti M. Anyabwile. ‘The Life of God in the Soul of the Church’ (Kindle Locations 817-821). Christian Focus Publications Ltd.. 

Read chapter 1 in its entirety here [pdf]