Ronald Wayne Floyd (born November 11, 1955) is an American religious leader and a former pastor and Southern Baptist executive. Ronnie was the Senior Pastor of
Cross Church (formerly called First Baptist Springdale), a Southern Baptist
megachurch
A megachurch is a church with an unusually large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities, usually Protestant or Evangelical. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research defines a megachurch as any Protestant C ...
located in
Northwest Arkansas
Northwest Arkansas (NWA) is a metropolitan area and region in Arkansas within the Ozark Mountains. It includes four of the ten largest cities in the state: Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville, the surrounding towns of Benton an ...
, and served as the 61st
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
of the Southern Baptist Convention from 2014-2016. He resigned his post as Senior Pastor in 2019 to become the full-time CEO of the Southern Baptist Executive Committee and run the day-to-day operations of the denomination. His resignation on October 14, 2021 coincided with mounting pressure in the wake of the SBC sexual abuse scandal.
Early life and education
Floyd was born on 11 November 1955 in
Gonzales, Texas
Gonzales is a city in Gonzales County, Texas, United States. It is the county seat. The population was 7,165 at the 2020 census. The "Come and Take It" flag in the War for Texas Independence from Mexico originated in Gonzales.
Its economy is enh ...
.
He obtained a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
degree from
Howard Payne University
Howard Payne University is a private Baptist university in Brownwood, Texas. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Howard Payne College was founded by Reverend Noah T. Byers and Dr. John David Robnett in 1889. The institu ...
in 1978, then attended
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is a Baptist theological institute in Fort Worth, Texas. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. It was established in 1908 and is one of the largest seminaries in the world. It i ...
where he obtained a
Master of Divinity
For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and divi ...
in 1980 and a
Doctor of Ministry The Doctor of Ministry (abbreviated DMin or D.Min.) is a professional doctorate, often including a research component, that may be earned by a minister of religion while concurrently engaged in some form of ministry. It is categorized as an advanced ...
in 1983.
Career
Pastor
Floyd was a pastor at First Baptist churches in
Cherokee, Texas Cherokee is an unincorporated community in San Saba County in western Central Texas. According to the'' Handbook of Texas'', the community had an estimated population of 175 in 2000.
Geography
Cherokee is located at (30.9823928, -98.7075397). It ...
(1976-1978),
Milford, Texas
Milford is an incorporated rural community located in North Central Texas, in the southwestern corner of Ellis County, in the United States. The population was 722 at the 2020 census.
The town is located northeast of Hillsboro and southwest ...
(1978-1981),
Palacios, Texas
Palacios ( ) is a city in Matagorda County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,395 at the 2020 census.
Etymology
Popular local legend states that the area was named Tres Palacios ("Three Palaces") several centuries ago by shipwrecked Spani ...
(1981-1984) and
Nederland, Texas (1984-1986).
A strong advocate of
evangelism
In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ.
Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...
and
discipleship
In Christianity, disciple primarily refers to a dedicated follower of Jesus. This term is found in the New Testament only in the Gospels and Acts. In the ancient world, a disciple is a follower or adherent of a teacher. Discipleship is not the ...
, Floyd was a member of the "
conservative resurgence" that retook control of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) during the 1980s. In 1989 he was a candidate to become president of the
Arkansas Baptist State Convention The Arkansas Baptist State Convention (ABSC) was founded on September 21, 1848, at Brownsville Church in Tulip in Dallas County, Arkansas as an affiliate of the Southern Baptist Convention. The first president was Isaac Perkins, and its first secre ...
, but was defeated by
Mike Huckabee
Michael Dale Huckabee (born August 24, 1955) is an American politician, Baptist minister, and political commentator who served as the 44th governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate for the Republican Party presidential nomina ...
.
Floyd became Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of
Springdale in northwestern
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
, USA, in 1986. In 2001, Floyd led his congregation in the building and opening of a second campus, The Church at Pinnacle Hills in
Rogers, Arkansas
Rogers is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. Located in the Ozarks, it is part of the Northwest Arkansas region, one of the fastest growing metro areas in the country. Rogers was the location of the first Walmart store, whose corpo ...
. In 2010, he led the two churches in adopting the unifying name Cross Church. Since that time, Cross Church has added three more locations (Neosho, Rogers, and Fayetteville), with a combined weekly attendance in the thousands. Additionally, Floyd maintains a blog, podcast, and television ministry. Floyd is also the founder of the Cross Church School of Ministry, a one-year residential ministry school that prepares students for life, ministry, and global evangelism. Floyd is the founder and host of the Summit, a weekly lunch seminar for Northwest Arkansas businesspersons which hosts renowned guest speakers.
In 2017, Cross Church opened Heart for the city, which feeds the homeless, ministers to those in need, and advances a ministry to children in the immediate region of its location in Fayetteville.
SBC Leadership
Floyd became chairman of the SBC Executive Committee (1995-1997) and president of the SBC Pastors Conference (1997). He led the SBC's Great Commission Resurgence Task Force (GCRTF) to generate its 2010 report resulting in "dramatic efforts to penetrate lostness in America and across the globe."
In 2013 he began to lead, along with other pastors, a national Call to Pray initiative. Hundreds of Southern Baptist pastors attended Call to Pray events, all for the purpose of praying for spiritual awakening in our churches and revival in our nation.
On June 10, 2014, Dr. Floyd was elected
president of the Southern Baptist Convention
The president of the Southern Baptist Convention heads the convention and is elected at the Annual Meeting. The president's duties include presiding over the annual meeting; appointing members to SBC committees; serving as an ex officio member of ...
at the SBC's annual gathering held in Baltimore. Upon close of the meeting, he became the 61st president of the SBC, succeeding the Rev.
Fred Luter
Fred J. Luter Jr. (born 1956 November 11 in New Orleans) is a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). He was elected on 2012 June 19, and was SBC's first African-American president. According to Southeastern Baptist Theological ...
. Dr. Floyd served as SBC President until June 15, 2016 when
Dr. Steve Gaines was elected.
In April, 2019, Dr. Floyd was elected President and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee. On April 7, he announced his resignation as Senior Pastor of Cross Church, so as to devote full time to the SBC EC position.
Management of Third Party Sexual Abuse Allegations
In October, 2019, at a conference regarding care for those who have been sexually abused in Christian contexts, Rachael Denhollander referenced abusive treatment of a sexual abuse victim by Dr. Floyd and other leaders at the Executive Committee as an example of why those who are abused are reticent to report.
Subsequently, in May, 2021, multiple internal whistle blower reports alleged Dr. Floyd had actively sought to intimidate victims, advocates, and stall progress in the sexual abuse inquiry within the Southern Baptist Convention.
Dr. Floyd issued a statement denying the allegations reported in the leaked letters and stating he had always supported sexual abuse survivors, but days later audio was released by a whistleblower in which Dr. Floyd is captured pressuring leaders from the October 2019 conference for failing to stop Rachael Denhollander from disclosing his actions. The audio clip contradicted Floyd's previous denials of claims made in the leaked letters and captured him stating that he was not concerned about the survivors, because he was concerned with "preserving the base" of the denomination.
In an unprecedented move following weeks of turmoil over allegations of Floyd's handling of the sexual abuse crisis in the Southern Baptist Convention, the delegates to the Southern Baptist Convention voted to mandate an independent third party investigation into the Executive Committee's handling of sexual abuse cases, victims, and advocates, including an investigation into Dr. Floyd's actions.
Floyd's leadership was marked by yet another unprecedented milestone for the Southern Baptist Convention when he and the Executive Committee trustees failed to fully comply with the directive of the Convention's delegates when, amidst calls for his removal and a tumultuous trustee meeting, Floyd's resistance to complete transparency and participation in the commissioned abuse task force was supported by the Executive Committee trustees.
Political Involvement
In June 2016, Floyd was tapped by then-candidate
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
to serve on an advisory board of evangelical leaders. Floyd had previously announced that he would not endorse Trump for President and had concerns about some of the candidate's comments, but he believed there was "too much at stake" to refrain from voting or to turn down the opportunity to attempt to influence a possible future president.
Bibliography
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See also
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List of Southern Baptist Convention affiliated people
This list List of Southern Baptist Convention affiliated people includes notable individuals who are or were members of a church affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) or who are otherwise affiliated with the SBC.
Presidents, pre ...
*
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wor ...
*
Southern Baptist Convention Presidents
The president of the Southern Baptist Convention heads the convention and is elected at the Annual Meeting. The president's duties include presiding over the annual meeting; appointing members to SBC committees; serving as an ex officio member of ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Floyd, Ronnie
1955 births
Baptists from Arkansas
Baptists from Texas
Living people
Southern Baptist ministers
People from Springdale, Arkansas
Southern Baptist Convention presidents
People from Gonzales, Texas
Religious leaders from Texas
Religious leaders from Arkansas
Howard Payne University alumni
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary alumni
20th-century American clergy
21st-century American clergy