A body is not made up of parts. The body is the precondition necessary for a part to be what it is.

Likewise, a church is not made up of Christians. The church is the precondition necessary for a person to take part in God’s mission to love and change the world.

One can only be a Christian without taking part in church to the extent that a hand is only a hand in relation to the body from which it may be severed. The purpose, meaning, and nature of the individual has no coherence or consistency without first knowing the story in which that individual is living.