I am often asked about current trends in the Body of Christ. One of the great features about the Church is its rich diversity. No two churches are the same. Each has its own spiritual DNA and employs unique methods to better serve their adherents and reach their communities with the glorious Gospel of Christ. Every so often a church or ministry will develop a fresh approach to accomplish the Great Commission. Some would label it and others will buy in to that method and soon a trend is established, often because of mass duplication of method. “So Rudi, what do you think of the Seeker Sensitive movement?”

I must admit, I have often heard the name but have not researched the origin or methodology.  Pastors have explained to me their understanding of what Seeker Sensitive churches are all about, some very critical about a watered down approach and others raving about cultural relevance. I write this article without being critical to anyone revelation or methodology. Let me simply give you my personal and straightforward answer to this question:

When speaking about being Seeker Sensitive it is important to determine who the Seeker is? Today most churches are filled with people who are already Believers. These folks have found Jesus, the Way the Truth and the Life. (John 14:6) Their search for a Savior has yielded glorious results! They already attend church and are active in the ministries of a church to be trained and grounded in the word of God and in the Christian doctrines that we find contained in God’s word. They love the fellowship of the Believers, the corporate worship of God, the public expression of their faith and belonging to something that is bigger than them. Often times they will invite their friends and even non-believers to church, saying a prayer in their heart to see the Lord’s transformational power in action as people connect with Jesus. The point is that the vast majority of church attendees are not really seekers. They have already found what or Who they were looking for.

There is Another attendee that fits the Seeker persona to a tee: Jesus! According to Luke 19:10 “the Son of man came to seek and to save those who are lost.” Jesus is the Seeker. In fact, He was looking for you long before you were looking for Him. He forged a way to your soul when sin sought to erase any access to your spirit. He paid the ransom nobody was willing to pay when you were kidnapped and trapped in the enemy’s sinful snares.

Now that we defined the true Seeker, I must admit that I am all for the Seeker sensitive approach! After all, Jesus is the honored, special guest every time we gather in worship and fellowship. He inhabits the praises of His people and where two or three are gathered in His name, He is in their midst. We should not only tolerate Him in our lives we should welcome Him, celebrate His presence and be sensitive to His will and desires for us. So how can we be more sensitive to Jesus the Seeker?

Sensitive Worship

Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords. He is God. The highest form of respect you can show Him is heartfelt worship. An obedient life and worshipping heart honors Him. We must be sensitive to His desires and will. He is our focus first and foremost. If He is not welcomed, warmed and wooed in our worship we have not worshipped at all. Worship is not about singing our favorite songs or a mere preliminary to the main part of a gospel service. It is about celebrating and welcoming Jesus, our guest of honor to His service. Worship places the focus where it belongs! Men and women fade into the background while Jesus inhabits their praise. (John 4:23; Psalm 22:3) 

Sensitive Servants

Sensitive servants are sensitive to the will and commands of their Master. They will stop at nothing to accomplish what He called them to be. They live holy lives, sold out in love and devotion to the Lord. Every life-adventure is to His glory. They are really big on giving thanks and credit God for all their accomplishments, successes and progress. They are never complacent because they are sensitive to the ongoing call upward and forward. Their mission is in effect God’s great commission to share the good news of His love and salvation to lost humanity. They love to help people connect with Jesus in a real and transforming way.  (Matt 28:19; Romans 12:1-3; Rom.1:1) 

Sensitive to His word

The Word of God is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. The Bible is the inspired will of God. So a Seeker sensitive person will value, respect and obey God’s word above any other instruction. It is the foundation on which they build their lives. Their life-view is shaped according to God’s word and they find joy in learning, knowing and following the doctrines contained in the word of God. They are people of God’s word and not man’s words. They are Christ-centered in their thinking and actions because Jesus is the Living Word. Knowing the Word is knowing Jesus. They seldom use words like: “Let me tell you what I think. . .” They rather will say: “This is what the word of God says.” (Psalm 119:105; Hebrews 4:11; John 1:1-4)

Sensitive in giving

God is a Giver and not a Taker (John 3:16) and a truly Seeker sensitive person will emulate this extraordinary characteristic of the Lord. After sending His disciples into the world Jesus told them: “Go preach the Gospel to everyone. Freely you have received, freely give.” One of the famous quotes of renowned evangelist Reinhard Bonnke is: “The Great Commission is not the great suggestion.” The greatest gift we can give someone is the Good News of Jesus Christ, introducing them to the Savior Himself. If you are generous in sharing your faith you will also be generous with your finances and other resources. (Matt. 10:7; Luke 10)

Jesus looked at the great throngs of people and He was moved with compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. He identified their needs and ministered to them through anointed teaching, power manifestations like healings and miracles and pointing them towards eternity by activating their faith in Him as Messiah. He often rebuked the exclusively religious and loved to spend His time with the lost sinner. He was sensitive to their eternal needs.

I do not think it is wrong for churches to be accommodating towards people who need the Savior’s touch in their lives. I do think that their first priority is to be sensitive to the Seeker Himself first, securing His precious and potent presence in a meeting and responding to His will, purpose and destiny for lives. Cutting mere religious elements from a service is one thing, but a watered down, powerless gospel is another.  We cannot have a form of Godliness void of God’s power within. Methods might matter, but what matters most is the genuine anointing of the Holy Spirit in every meeting, God’s matchless love and powerful presence wrapped around every heart while proclaiming and declaring the potent, practical and penetrating Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Then our meetings will be filled with miraculous manifestations of God’s power in confirmation of His word. Souls will be saved, healing will happen, bondages will be broken, captives will go free and people will be filled with the Holy Spirit.

I close with this thought: A Nepalese missionary e-mailed me one day. He expressed a desperate concern. “Please pray for my church.” He said. “I fear it is sick for no one was saved this week in our meeting.” I replied with a heartfelt prayer, believing God to heal that church. A few days later I received another email from this pastor. It was short and to the point: “Thank God, our church is healthy again!”

May every church, regardless of their ministry philosophy and methods stay true to the full Gospel of Jesus Christ and may they all be healthy by yielding a continuous harvest of souls into the Kingdom of God. May every person seek the Seeker and be saved by the Savior!