The Staff Team, Lay Leadership Team, and the Church Team from both campuses went above and beyond to make our 20th anniversary at our church a special time for us. I believe it was special for the church for many reasons as well, providing us some living history we need to know and never forget. My heart is filled with thanksgiving to our God and to you.

I want to thank you church family … you are incredible. Dr. Jerry Vines, our guest preacher for the morning, was encouraged greatly by everything he saw and experienced around here, especially from you. Thanks for loving our guests! I want to thank you for each gift, each card, each note, each message over DVD, and each email blessing. We have almost completed watching and reading all of the messages, however they came to us. We thank you dear people of God.

I want to thank my family. The guest blogs written to us by Josh and Nick, as well as to the church, are a great blessing to us. They are fine young men of God, consistent and devoted to Jesus and His church without any reservation or hesitation. They love us and they love you church family. God has used you to call each of them to do what they do for God. Their families are doing the same, mirroring the image of our splendid church and the commitment of our leaders. I love you Nick, Meredith, (Baby on the way!), Josh, Kate, and Peyton. Keep that family growing!

To Jesus, we say thanks and we love you. To you, we say thanks and we love you, church family.

1,000 Thank You’s!

Sunday, October 29, 2006 marked Ronnie Floyd’s 20th anniversary as Pastor of our church. He has asked that a few photos of the service be posted here this morning to share with all of you. You can view more photos in a slideshow here. You can also view the video that was played at the service here.

Praise & worship, Celebration Service

Drew Tucker presents Pastor & family with gifts

Pastor shows his appreciation to the congregation

Josh & Angela Stanbery lead the choir and orchestra in singing one of Pastor’s favorite songs, “God of All Gods”

Pastor expresses his love and gratitude to Jeana

Members show their appreciation after service to Pastor and family

You can view more photos in a slideshow here.

Congratulations, Mom and Dad, on 20 years in NWA! That is quite an accomplishment for a pastor. It is such a blessing to have godly parents who model what it means to live for Christ every day. You are so real and genuine in your faith. You are both very giving people and always taught us, “You can never out-give God.” Dad, thanks for always modeling to me how to be a good husband. I strive to be the godly husband and father you are to our family. I thank God every day I was raised in a godly home.

Congratulations, church, on 20 Years of Celebration! It is very rare in this day for a church to have the same pastor for that amount of time. That says a lot about this church. Thank you for the continued support of your pastor and this ministry. First Baptist Springdale and The Church at Pinnacle Hills is a great church!

I want to say thank you to both the church and my parents. You have had a great impact on my life. I learned so much growing up in this church, whether it was small groups, revivals, preaching, etc. There is no way I would be where I am today without this great fellowship of believers!

Dad and Mom, congratulations on 20 years! What a blessing it has been to have you both as my parents. Generations will be impacted because of your faithful service in one church. Thank you for the godly example you have shown to Josh and me. You are amazing parents.  After 22 years of life, I still love the church! That is a special thing to say as a pastor’s kid. Thank you for following God’s call to Springdale. My life has been drastically impacted by our time in Arkansas. Thank you for the eternal investment you have made in my life. You have been awesome parents, and I realize that more every day. Congratulations, and I love you both!

First Baptist Springdale and The Church at Pinnacle Hills, I also want to thank you for the investment you have had in my life.  I don’t know if you realize it, but you are a great church. For most of my life, you have been my church. Many of you have put your life into me over these past 20 years. Thank you. Several of you were influential in my salvation and call to ministry. You have made an eternal impact because of your service; no matter how big or small you thought it was. Someone had to take care of me in the nursery, teach me at Shiloh, host my friends and me during Disciple Now weekends, be my Sunday school teacher, and I appreciate every one of you. To those who have prayed for me throughout these years, thank you.

When I think about who I am today, it is because of two things. First of all, it is because of the amazing parents that raised me. Second, it is because I was raised in a great church. These two factors have made more of an impact on me than anything else in my life. Thank you, Dad and Mom, for raising us in this great evangelistic church. Thank you Church, for being who you are and for loving us these past 20 years!

This coming Sunday, our church will celebrate with us 20 years of ministry in Northwest Arkansas as Senior Pastor of this incredible church. In our 136 years of history and existence, I am the longest tenured pastor. I am the 31st pastor of this fellowship. It is amazing how it has changed in just the 20 years I have been here.

This people and place provided for us a wonderful environment from which to launch into accomplishing the Great Commission of Jesus Christ. This church has and will forever have the world on its heart. We are committed to seeing “the called” be called out and sent out into all the world from this ministry. We are committed to planting and launching new churches on every continent of the world. We are committed to ministry here, across America, and the world, to insure every person and people group has a chance to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ.

This people and place serves as a great place in which we have raised our children.My children grew up in dynamic student ministries, received an excellent education from our Christian school, got to play in four state championship football games between them, with Josh having one state championship ring and Nick having three state championship rings. And both of them grew up in a Bible-believing, Christ-centered, ministry-driven, evangelistic church. Now, one of our grandchildren will do the same unless God leads them to another place one day.

This people and place now serve as my place of refuge and hope during all times in my life. They have walked with me through a wife stricken with cancer, challenges of family life, church disappointments, public attacks, and denominational affairs. You know, this people are family. They are not family because time dictated it, but because we have lived life together.

Today, I salute and thank the First Baptist Church of Springdale and The Church at Pinnacle Hills for loving and nurturing us for these 20 years. Words cannot describe and feelings cannot express what we believe and know you are to us and for us.

We Love You …

Peyton went to a new level in his engagement in Razorback Football last Saturday! As you can tell from the picture, this is pre-game and he is still studying the situation. The more the game went on, the more he engaged into all of the action.

Peyton even made the big screen at Razorback Stadium with his Mom for about 15 seconds just prior to Kick-off.  Sporting his newest jersey, purchased by “Pops,” (that is me) – he wore Mitch Mustain’s number! He looked deluxe. Besides that, Peyton even made the news on Saturday night on NBC Sports! So Mitch and Peyton and all of the Razorbacks had a good day overcoming Ole Miss.

The Cowboys’ luck was not as good last night against the Giants. We had a great time going to the game, returning about 1:15 a.m. today. However, the game was all about the Giants. I was on the sideline prior to kick-off and talked with our own Chris Mortenson of ESPN an active member at our Pinnacle Hills location; David Lee, Cowboy’s assistant coach, who was a very active member of our Springdale location; and then wrapped it up and had a conversation with Michael Irvin, former Cowboy phenom, now with ESPN. I also spent some time talking with him and Chris on the sideline in the pregame. I had a good night, but the Cowboys did not. Oh well, it is a long season.

Pray for us today…many decisions about so many things hang in the balance.

One of the great blessings of my countdown to my 20-year celebration as pastor of this church is that a group of guys are taking me down to the Cowboy game tonight. We will leave mid-afternoon, fly to Dallas, and arrive back into Northwest Arkansas late tonight. This will be my first game to attend in a couple of years in Dallas, so I am grateful and look forward to the fellowship and fun.

People usually ask me on Sunday nights, “What did you think of the Cowboys game today?” Yes, I am a long-time fan, but with my schedule right now, many Sunday afternoons by the time I get home mid-afternoon, rest and getting ready to return for Sunday evening keep me from being able to watch the game. Therefore, it will be refreshing to be a part of tonight’s game in Dallas against the New York Giants. Nick and Meredith will join me and the others from our church who will be going. I am so grateful for this blessing provided by some of our guys who attend our Springdale location.

I have received so many cards and notes as well as some wonderful gifts from our people. The time of fellowship with many of them has also been a refreshment to Jeana and me. We are more than blessed by being able to serve here and we know it. Thanks to all of you thus far who have participated in this countdown to 20 years. You have made it more than special.

Our beloved Razorbacks continue to roll – surprising America by being 6-1. The huge upset against Auburn has changed everything in Razorback land. We should defeat our non-conference foe on Saturday, putting us 7-1. I believe one of the scariest games on the schedule is against South Carolina in Gamecock Land! Steve Spurrier is a great coach, and they are radical fans “win or lose” filling that stadium and rocking strong doing it. If we can land the plane on victory runway in South Carolina, we may surprise everyone and run the table! You say, “you are crazy Pastor!” Our schedule is very Razorback-friendly. We will not be favored against Tennessee or LSU, but both games are here! It will get crazier and more intense by the week, and our entire state is ecstatic and most shocked about where we sit today.

We need to remember, football is just like life many times. It is one game or one day at a time. Can we lose again? Absolutely! This is SEC football and we cannot take anyone lightly, including Mississippi State who seems to be moving towards improvement.

Regardless of where we end up in potential and reality, we are now eligible for a bowl game … and this has Razorback fans, as a whole, in a much better mood! Thank God! Life is just better in Arkansas for everyone when the Razorbacks are winning.

Wherever we end up, just rejoice … we are one really good football team!

I gave yesterday morning to the Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri. Our President there is Dr. Phil Roberts, a scholar, apologist, and evangelist. God is using him to make a difference in the lives of ministers and in that segment of the nation. They just secured much of the original library of the great preacher of preachers, Charles Haddon Spurgeon. This is a remarkable and miraculous acquisition for them and will open up numerous doors of opportunity for them in their future. They were able to secure over 6,000 volumes. Spurgeon preached to over 10,000 people a week in London in the 1800′s. At age 20, he was known for being the preacher of his day. Again, I am proud of Phil, love him, and rejoice with this new acquisition which is huge for their future.

Speaking of preaching, I conclude the series on the book of Job this week. The entire series will be available by CD at the conclusion of the worship services at both campuses. It can be secured by DVD soon. Share it with friends.

Do not forget to pray for us and our church in these days. In this 50 day prayer journey, the Lord is bringing down walls in the lives of people and doing great things.

This coming Sunday night at 6:00 p.m. at our Springdale Campus: Do not miss it! I will be journeying with you through something in Scripture, and I believe your life will be enhanced supernaturally by attending. God is going to do great things on this Sunday night.

See you Sunday. Bring someone with you. Pray daily. And of course, Go Hogs! Beat Ole Miss!

This coming Sunday I will be doing my final message in our seven-message series on the book of Job, “When My Pain is Real.” I have been refreshed and amazed along the way as I have studied and recounted Job’s story. We began the series learning how “life took Job down,” and then observed the stages he went through in the process– wondering why innocent people suffer pain and loss, questioning God, dealing with unbelievable hurt, and enduring deafening silence from God.

Job’s life tells the “inside story” of real pain when it collides with hope. From the depths of Job’s personal pain, I hope you have learned lessons that will help you in your life. Job was a real person who engaged real people, but most importantly– walked through it all with a real God. Job came to the ultimate conclusion that God is all powerful, He is in charge, He has a plan, and He can do anything.

Please join us this Sunday as we finish this series with a message entitled, “Purpose Returns to Me.” I am going to share some personal words with you about my journey here through these 20 years as your pastor. At times, each of us has lost purpose in our lives, but God’s Word is practical – the lessons are powerful, and it gives us instruction on regaining our purpose. Don’t miss this Sunday as we learn how to seize the greatest future possible for each of our lives and our church.

Praying for you …

Peyton with the Shiloh Saints Football Seniors at Josh and Kate’s house. Taken October 16, 2006.