EDWARDS—The substance of transformation for Bob Loggins, Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) prayer and spiritual awakening specialist, is often quite simple.
Loggins does not always draw a big crowd. The seriousness of his topic sees to that. The need of the hour is to preach
against sin, so he has no use for entertainment in the pulpit, or the all-too-common practice of making suggestions.
His audience here on Feb. 18 at Colony Baptist Church was six. They came to hear his very first PowerPoint presentation on “Awaken 2012: Preaching for Spiritual Awakening,” which he calls a spiritual awakening encounter.
After nearly an hour of prayer and Bible reading, Loggins spent 79 minutes on the slides as the filling of the Holy Spirit was sought.
“God taught me to begin with His Word,” Loggins said. “Let His Word settle us down, get us back focused on what God has to say.
“I prepare to do what I do with excellence, with God’s help. I don’t care what it is, I’m going for the gold. If I’ve got two people, I’m going to do it with excellence. One day that group would be 150-200.”
The weekend in this rural / resort area of Benton County began on Feb. 17 with a solemn assembly. It ended on Feb. 19 with a sermon on awakening and a town-hall meeting where the congregation, which averages about 70 in Sunday worship with a likely increase to 100 after Easter, could connect even more.
The host pastor, Daniel Yoder, is only 31 years old. In January 2011, Loggins became his mentor, his father in the ministry, and his pastor.
“I brought him here for three days primarily for me, and then I simply have opened the doors for the congregation and for other pastors to join me in growing,” Yoder said.
The extensive time that Loggins spent Feb. 18 in the Word and in prayer was greatly appreciated by Yoder. Loggins teaches clearly on the benefits of fasting, and Yoder said he experienced that in late January with a 60-hour fast in the Colony Baptist sanctuary. The result was a clearer focus.
“To me that (Loggins’ devotion to the Word and prayer) is the most important and the most powerful part of it,” Yoder said. “If we’re not with the Lord first, then it’s just information that we’re getting.”
Loggins, who brought a full array of resources to Edwards, announced that his calendar for the rest of 2012 is full. His goal for the various settings where he will be speaking continues to be renewal in individual lives, revival in the church, and spiritual awakening in the community.
“We’re not here to entertain people,” Loggins said. “We’re here to transform people. We’re not here to make people feel good. We’re here to bring people to the cross of Christ.”
