There are a handful of musical artists I particularly like; whose records I own and whom I've seen in concert a number of times. Harry Connick, Barenaked Ladies, Indigo Girls (just here for the Emily songs), and The Zac Brown Band. In particular, I like ZBB's island songs and their sad songs. My favorite might be a song called COLDER WEATHER (youtube).

And there's a line in there I just love

She said, "You're a ramblin' man
And you ain't ever gonna change
You got a gypsy soul to blame
And you were born for leavin'"

There are lots of words for this kind of gypsy. Words like Bedouin, wanderer, drifter, roamer, and vagabond. I see so many Christians, today, who would fit into these descriptions. People who profess a faith in Christ Jesus and claim a place in the Kingdom of God but who can't seem to settle down with a single faith community.

They'll go to this religious conference and that. This Christian concert and that. This Sunday morning carnival and that. They like the architecture of this church, but the main speaker at that one. They're moved by the worship performance at this church but prefer the pews at that one. The coffee is really good at this church, but they don't like the glasses the pastor wears at that one (cough, Mike Mader, cough).

When I was a kid, we didn't have Old Country Buffet or China Palace Buffet. We had Smörgåsbords. Maybe it was the German/Scandinavian heritage of the area. I don't know. And I think smörgåsbords gave way to salad bars, at some point. I remember my first one at Ponderosa Steak House. There were cowboys on the walls along with every kind of food – glass-covered and steam-warmed (or ice-cooled) you could want!

And, to me, there are Christians today who much prefer a church smörgåsbord to a single, sit-down experience.

Why would anyone sit down at the same restaurant with the same menu and the same waitress every week when you could enjoy an entire buffet of churches? Who wouldn't want the cafeteria plan of faith? A little bit of this, a little bit of that. Get extra delicious portions of this and skip the healthy portions of that.

But I can't help but think that it was never God's intent (or Jesus' or Paul's) that we be itinerant believers. Traveling from place to place, pew to pew, pulpit to pulpit. To do so, to me, indicates that one would only consider that our faith is meant to be consumed. Feasted on. Devoured. Just pick the pieces we like. Stay away from the pieces we don't.

I believe that church-gypsyism represents a lack of commitment. An under-developed comprehension of what our Christian faith should be. Because from the earliest teachings in scripture, so much of our faith development depends on journeying WITH other believers towards that goal. Doing life and doing church alongside one another. That's the meat of our formation. Otherwise, aren't we just children with $100 in our pockets to blow at the ice cream shop and candy store?

I'm reminded of Paul addressing the church in Corinth who were reluctant to step into spiritual maturity.

1 Corinthians 3:1-4 (PHILLIPS)
I, my brothers, was unable to talk to you as spiritual men: I had to talk to you... as yet babies in the Christian life. And my practice had been to feed you, as it were, with “milk” and not with “meat”. You were unable to digest “meat” in those days, and I don’t believe you can do it now. For you are still unspiritual...

In being church gypsies we forgo the effort, work, pain, and benefits of loving and serving one another as members of the body.

By feasting at a church buffet, we fill our plates with what looks good, eat only what pleases us, and then leave the half-full plate behind for someone to clean up. Then, we go right back up to the buffet to take another plate. And do it again.

That's not growth. That's not maturity. That's not progress. That's not sanctification. That's self-gratification. Taking in what's pleasurable and forgoing the work. Dating a church but never committing.

The fact is that we're all made to be part of a church body because we're all made to play a particular role in that body.

Hebrews 10:24b-25 (PHILLIPS)
...And let us think of one another and how we can encourage each other to love and do good deeds. And let us not hold aloof from our church meetings, as some do. Let us do all we can to help one another’s faith, and this the more earnestly as we see the final day drawing ever nearer.

Romans 12:4-5 (MSG)
In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we?

The church gypsy way of practicing our faith doesn't add up to what it seems scripture calls us to. So while many of us have "a gypsy soul to blame," we should work against that self-gratifying inclination to  bring love and strength and benefit to the church body we've been called to.


Praying for God's grace and peace in your life,

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