FAYETTEVILLE -- Cross Church couldn't have found a new senior pastor better known to its congregation.
The Rev. Nick Floyd, 35, grew up there while his father, the Rev. Ronnie Floyd, spent 33 years helping the church grow to 22,000 baptized and 9,000 in attendance every week in 11 worship services on four campuses.
Beyond the pulpit
Who is Nick Floyd when he’s not in front of the congregation on Sunday? Here’s what he says:
“When I’m not at church, I’m usually with my family. We love to be outside and all enjoy Mexican food! I’m a big football fan. I enjoy it all — high school, college, and the NFL. I also have a smoker and love to cook Texas barbecue. I try to vary my reading. That helps me from getting bored in my reading. For example, I’ll read a sports book, a biography, something for personal growth, and something for my spiritual life and leadership.”
The elder Floyd was elected president and chief executive officer of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee during a special meeting April 2 in Dallas. In that role, he will lead the convention in matters occurring outside its annual two-day meeting, while also handling finances and public relations for the faith, which counts more than 15 million members in the United States.
He resigned as senior pastor of Cross Church the following Sunday and will wrap up his ministry at the church May 19.
Nick Floyd was confirmed as his father's successor April 28.
"This morning, April 28, 2019, in the 11 services of Cross Church, Dr. Nick Floyd was voted upon and affirmed in an overwhelming manner to become the next senior pastor of Cross Church at the conclusion of morning worship on Sunday, May 19," the church's website stated.
Donnie Smith, retired CEO of Tyson Foods, serves on the church's seven-member board of directors. He told Baptist Press, the denomination's official news service, that Nick Floyd "has the DNA of Cross Church," noting that the younger Floyd "was saved, baptized, discipled, called to ministry, licensed to the ministry and ordained right here at Cross Church."
Smith explained the church had begun a succession plan two years ago in the event of anything that might affect Ronnie Floyd's service as senior pastor, whether illness or sudden death or "a situation we're facing today of him being called to another position in ministry."
"We knew we needed to identify the right man who would become the next spiritual leader of our church, the man who would set the direction for the future of our church whenever the time of succession would come," Smith said, describing a "thorough, thoughtful and prayerful process" that led to the board of directors' unanimous recommendation.
"Thirty-three years ago, I came to Northwest Arkansas as a young preacher with no idea what God had before me," Ronnie Floyd said. "For these 33 years, Northwest Arkansas has been our home, and Cross Church has been our family. Jeana and I have been blessed to be part of what God has done and will continue to do at Cross Church. Never would I have dreamed that one of my sons would follow me as senior pastor. I am excited about the future of Cross Church and cannot wait to see what God has in store."
Nick Floyd said he didn't always think he'd follow in his father's footsteps either.
"Growing up in the home of a pastor, you get asked one common question: 'Are you going to be a pastor like your dad when you grow up?' I would always respond 'no.' I really wanted to be a commentator on ESPN's College Football Gameday. It wasn't until my freshman and sophomore years of high school that I began to sense a call to the ministry."
That decision made, Floyd earned an undergraduate degree at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.; a master of divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth while working on the staff of the Dallas-area Prestonwood Baptist Church; and a doctor of ministry degree at Liberty.
He has served Cross Church for the past decade, first at its campus in Rogers. He then founded a second service at the Springdale campus, and in 2011 he launched the campus in Fayetteville, now the largest with three morning services. He became the church's lead teaching pastor three years ago and assumed overall responsibility for the church's staff.
"He's also committed to who we are as a Southern Baptist church," Smith said, noting that Floyd is a trustee at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., and a member of Arkansas Baptist State Convention's Executive Board. He also worked with his father when the elder Floyd was Southern Baptist Convention president from 2014 to 2016.
"On top of that, he has been personally and professionally mentored by his father, Ronnie Floyd, for the last decade," Smith said. "We see that as an incredible benefit to the church."
Ronnie Floyd said "the influence of this position to reach the world" convinced him he couldn't say no to the Southern Baptist Convention.
"At least 60% percent of the churches in America are plateaued or declining in attendance," he told the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in April. "People are coming to church less Sundays each year. This is an enormous challenge for every church in America."
Nick Floyd added his own perception.
"I believe the major challenge for the church is communicating timeless truths in a changing culture," he said. "The world is longing for truth, and we believe that is found in the Bible."
"I'm not really trying to be exactly like my dad or trying to be different from him for the sake of being different," he said. "I'm just trying to be who God has created me to be. We both believe the Bible and that Jesus is the hope of the world. Our personalities and passions may be different, but those main things remain the same."
Religion on 05/11/2019