By Allen Palmeri
Associate Editor
JEFFERSON CITY—Bob Loggins, Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) prayer and spiritual awakening specialist, is excited about Missouri Baptists entering into a season of prayer and fasting leading up to an Oct. 25 Solemn Assembly at First Baptist Church, Raytown.
The 40-day MOre Prayer emphasis in the state began Sept. 16.
“We have Godly people who love God dearly,” he said. “Now, we’re not a perfect people, but we are focused on doing the things that we really need to do for the Kingdom.”
Loggins said a key question for Missouri Baptists these days is found in John 5:6, where Jesus talked with a man who had been an invalid for 38 years. The question both then and now is, “Do you want to get well?” September and October are months for Missouri Baptists to ponder that.
“I don’t know all of the needs of Missouri Baptists,” Loggins said. “Only God knows. But we can all stand a deeper cleansing.”
The text for this prayer emphasis in Missouri is The Journey to Wholeness and Holiness, a book Loggins has written as a guide.
“We have plenty of books,” he said. “We will be more than happy to get those books to the churches. We are praying that churches will contact us.”
The Solemn Assembly will be held the night before the Missouri Baptist Pastors’ Conference and the MBC’s 175th annual meeting. It will begin at 6 p.m.
“We’ve got a country that needs to be made whole,” Loggins said. “We’ve got a world that needs to be made whole. We’ve got people who are broken spiritually that need to be made whole, people who are lowly, who are in many different conditions. And God through Christ is sitting there saying you can be made whole.”
MBC Executive Director David Tolliver has prioritized prayer. He agreed with the idea to launch solemn assemblies once a year, and this year’s annual meeting will mark the third time for this event. Loggins has taught principles of prayer and fasting learned in his former church, applying them to Missouri Baptists as a whole.