Dr. Ronnie Floyd of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has assumed the role of President of the National Day of Prayer. Floyd replaces Anne Graham Lotz.
The Board of Directors say they “couldn’t have found a man more passionate or dedicated to prayer and spiritual awakening than Ronnie Floyd.”
His Resume
Floyd is the Senior Pastor at Cross Church in Arkansas. While Floyd has held numerous high level positions within the SBC and its affiliated organizations, perhaps his most widely recognized role was the president of the SBC, a title which he held from 2014-2016. The SBC is the largest Protestant denomination in the United States.
Floyd has written several books, in addition to serving as General Editor of LifeWay’s Bible Studies for Life Curriculum. This Bible study is used by small groups at approximately 30,000 SBC churches.
Since 2013, Floyd has led, along with other leaders of the SBC, a Call to Prayer Initiative.
His Stance on Trump
In June 2016, Floyd was one of 500 influential evangelical leaders invited to meet with then-candidate Donald Trump. In an article published on Fox News, Floyd expressed his reservations to endorse Trump: “Some of Mr. Trump’s comments about women, minorities and immigrants are concerning.” He was also aware of his position as the president of the SBC at the time and shied away from officially endorsing a candidate. However, Floyd is now on President Trump’s evangelical advisory board.
Some were not surprised by Floyd’s eventual alignment with Trump given his history in the Conservative Resurgence of the SBC in the 1980s. This movement started in the 1960s when some leaders of the SBC feared the seminaries and SBC-affiliated agencies such as its National Mission Board were being taken over by liberals. One of the main thrusts of the Conservative Resurgence was to affirm the inerrancy of Scripture.
His Passion for Prayer
Prayer is a topic Floyd writes about and speaks on frequently. The National Day of Prayer was created in 1952; this May, an estimated 2 million Americans participated.
In a letter announcing his acceptance of the position, Floyd wrote to his congregation, “In this desperate and urgent hour when turmoil and division is evident in America and security threats are being made against America, it is imperative that we do all we can right now to mobilize unified public prayer for America.”
He also iterated his belief that America’s greatest need is “to experience the next Great Spiritual Awakening.”
