Virginia
Gateway announces Virginia megachurch founder as new senior pastor
Gateway Church plans to announce during service today that the church has a new senior pastor: Virginia megachurch founder Daniel Floyd.
Floyd and his wife, Tammie Floyd, will be leaving their roles as senior pastors of Lifepoint Church in Fredericksburg, Va., a megachurch they founded about 20 years ago that now has five Virginia locations. The Floyds plan to start their new chapter at Gateway around August.
In 2016, Daniel Floyd founded Fredericksburg-based Lifepoint College, a school offering two-year degrees and certificates in subjects including ministry, leadership and biblical studies.
Gateway Church in Southlake has been without a senior pastor since last June, when its longtime senior pastor and founder Robert Morris resigned after being accused of sexually abusing a child in the 1980s. Morris was indicted in March on five counts of lewd or indecent acts to a child in Oklahoma and made an initial court appearance in Osage County court May 9. Morris’ preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 4.
Floyd came to Gateway in March to preach a sermon on prayer during the church’s first service since the Oklahoma Attorney General announced the news of Morris’ indictment.
In a Friday interview, Floyd told The Dallas Morning News that before a Gateway elder reached out to him early this year, he had no plans to leave the church he founded. “Honestly, in 20 years, I’ve never looked — I’ve just been really content in the calling that we have right now,” he said.
Tra Willbanks, the chair of Gateway’s board of elders, reached out to Floyd in January through a mutual friend to discuss the possibility of Floyd coming to lead the church. “My first thought was: ‘How would this impact [my] family, and is God in this?’” Floyd said. “And then I think after that, you begin to ask those questions of ‘Do I have what it takes?’”
Floyd said his decision to move to Texas was informed by his daily prayer time and his understanding of what God was calling him to do.
He wakes up around 5:30 every morning, and starts his day with coffee, Bible reading and then prayer for around an hour. “I want God to speak to me before I talk to anybody else, or even before I talk to him,” Floyd said.
Over the past few months, Floyd said, he’s felt God encouraging him to come to Gateway through signs in his daily prayer and Bible reading and through conversations with friends and mentors. “At some point, my wife and I, we were just like — ‘You can’t make this up anymore, how much God is directing and guiding this,’” Floyd said.
Willbanks, who was also part of the Friday interview with The News, said Floyd was giving up a “thriving church” to come and “do a lot of repair work in a community.”
“We needed somebody that understood that for what it was,” he said.
Floyd said he was up for the challenge.
“I don’t want to coast in my life,” he said. He finds the “big task” of leading Gateway both daunting and exciting. “It’s all those emotions in one.”
Willbanks told The News in January that Gateway set up a committee of about 20 to 30 people, including both staff and members, men and women, to help vet the new senior pastor. The church also added four new elders in January to help vote on a senior pastor, choosing people who were not “in the bubble” of how things were run at the church before June, according to Willbanks.
In discussing what the church wanted in a future senior pastor, Willbanks said humility was a top priority. He said he and Floyd spent time talking about the humility and vulnerability needed to stay grounded while leading a large church.
“[Floyd] called me at one point in this process, and he had told me that he had gone back to some of his closest friends and just asked them … ‘Do I show up like a celebrity?’” Willbanks said.
That capacity for self-reflection was a good sign to Willbanks.
“A narcissist doesn’t do that,” he said.
Adrian Ashford covers faith and religion in North Texas for The Dallas Morning News through a partnership with Report for America.
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Virginia Democrats are not happy about a state Supreme Court decision declaring last month’s referendum to draw new congressional districts null and void.
Democrats, however, have filed a motion asking the Virginia Court to delay its 4-3 decision while they file an emergency appeal to the United States Supreme Court.
Virginia’s current map that favors Democrats by a narrow 6-5 margin will stay in effect for the midterms. Both sides, though, have a lot to say to say about today’s decision.
Two months ago, you couldn’t avoid the political ads and mailers on both sides of the issue.
“Everybody remembers we got a few million dollars worth of flyers in our mailboxes, and everything with redistricting that whole referendum has now been overturned by the court decision,” said Old Dominion University Associate Professor of Political Science Jesse Richman.
On April 21, Virginia voters approved redrawing congressional maps that would have given Democrats a 10-1 advantage, giving them a strong chance to pick up four additional seats in November.
More than two weeks later, the Virginia Supreme Court rendered the results null and void, saying the required constitutional processes were not followed before this was put up for a vote. So what does that mean for Virginians?
“As it is, we stay with the districts we have,” Richman said. “If [Democrat] Bobby Scott’s your representative, he’s still your representative. The lines aren’t moving. If [Republican] Jen Kiggans is your representative, [she’s] still your representative.”
Scott and Kiggans spoke to 10 On Your Side shortly after today’s decision.
“I’m disappointed,” Scott said. “People voted, three million people voted, it carried in 55 of the 100 House of Delegates districts, so the people spoke.”
“It’s a big day for Virginia today,” Kiggans said. “It’s a victory for the rule of law [and] it’s a victory for fairness.”
That split reaction has also been felt among voters, some even rallying in front of the Virginia Supreme Court. One of them was Hampton’s NAACP Branch President Gaylene Kanoyton.
“We have got to make sure that we mobilize and don’t let this get us down,” Kanoyton said. “We need to be energized.”
Virginia Democrats have vowed to fight Friday’s ruling, saying they intend to file an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“I expect we’ll see more intense political campaigning in the midterms in this area because of the Supreme Court’s decision,” Richman said.
90+ artists to exhibit on the Va. Beach boardwalk with the backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Get ready for the largest surf art show on the East Coast!
The 17th Annual Virginia Beach Surf Art Expo at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront on the boardwalk, 3rd through 7th streets, will begin Saturday, May 23, through Sunday, May 24, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., ending on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Courtesy: VB Surf Art Expo (Antone Nixon, with VB Sunrise)
The Virginia Beach Surf Art Expo features over 90 regional artists from Maine to the Mid-Atlantic region and down through Florida, capturing the essence of the beach, the ocean, wildlife, sea life, and surfing-related themes in art.
The Virginia Beach Surf Art Expo is partnered with the Coastal Edge Steel Pier Classic and the surfing competition at the 1st Street Jetty.
This event is an official kick-off to the summer season at the Oceanfront.
“Isn’t seeing an artist’s interpretation of the beach vibe the very best way to enjoy it? We drip salt water from our pores,” says Jodie Woodward, founder and show director of the Virginia Beach Surf Art Expo.
Surf art comes in all mediums, including painting, photography, jewelry, sculpture, ceramics, wood, metal, fiber, glass, and mixed media, all available for purchase at the art expo.
Each artist has a special connection with surfing, the ocean, beach life, sea life, seascape scenes, shells, coral, dolphins, fish, lighthouses, mermaids, custom surfboard and skateboard designs.
Expect to see more Patriotic themes this year in alignment with America’s 250th birthday, officials say.
“We can’t wait for the 23rd Annual Coastal Edge Steel Pier Classic presented by Katin,” says D. Nachnani, president of Coastal Edge. “This Memorial Day Weekend, the heart of Virginia Beach becomes the soul of East Coast surfing. We’re proud to host the WSL World Tour Longboard event alongside our professional shortboard competition. With over 300 athletes representing more than a dozen countries, and a combined $16,000 purse on the line, this is more than a contest—it’s a celebration of art, athleticism, music, and the surf culture that defines our coast,” Nachnani went on to say.
For more information about the Virginia Beach Surf Art Expo, click here, call (757) 348-1048, connect on the Virginia Beach Surf Art Expo’s Facebook here, or their Instagram here.
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) is monitoring a Virginia traveler after they returned from a cruise ship linked to a deadly hantavirus outbreak.
The outbreak is tied to the MV Hondius, which is traveling from Argentina to the Canary Islands. Eight cases were reported this week, resulting in three deaths and several other sicknesses. Multiple passengers are now considered at risk, including one Virginian.
A local doctor said the risk to the public remains low. The traveler in question is not currently showing signs of infection, but is being monitored as a precaution.
“Typically in this country, [hantavirus is] transmitted when people are cleaning up around their rodents and they aerosolize the rodent droppings and they breathe those in,” said former Virginia Health Commissioner Dr. Randy Gordon.
Gordon said the virus has existed since the 1990s and often presents with flu-like symptoms.
“Until 2023, we only had 890 cases worldwide,” he said.
Despite the minimal risk this outbreak currently poses to those on land, Virginia health officials are still taking things seriously, Gordon said.
“The state health department is very aware of it and the district health department is very aware of it,” he said. “They’re monitoring this person and they’re seeing if any symptoms develop. However, it’s notable they’re not isolating this person.”
He emphasized that hantavirus has a very low transmission rate, despite its higher death rate of about 35%, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“It’s very rare, number one, and one’s likelihood of encountering it is almost zero, especially if you take precautions,” Gordon said. “You’re more likely to get it right now from cleaning up rodent excrement.”
He added that this appears to be a small cluster of cases and is likely to remain limited.
Gordon said there is no specific treatment for hantavirus and doctors instead treat symptoms. The best protection is basic hygiene and avoiding exposure to rodent droppings.
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