Southern Baptists Struggle to Maintain Flock

They have also advocated more openness and innovation.

One sign of their activism is the large number of expected contenders for this year's presidency -- the most since 1979.

The Rev. Frank Cox, 52, and the Rev. Johnny Hunt, 55, both megachurch pastors in the Atlanta area, are seen as the establishment candidates, tied closely to the denomination's power structure, Warner said.

Three other candidates are seen more as outsiders, including two former missionaries -- Wagner, 72, and Avery Willis, 74 -- and Les Puryear, 56, a small-church pastor from North Carolina.

Aside from the presidential vote, battles are expected to be waged on the potential reversal of two policies: One bars Southern Baptists from being appointed as missionaries if they admit to having a "private prayer language," also known as speaking in tongues, and the other prohibits people from becoming missionaries if they were baptized in a non-Southern Baptist church. Southern Baptists generally disapprove of speaking in tongues, which is practiced in Pentecostal or "charismatic" churches, but there's no ban on the practice in the Baptist Faith and Message.

Some Southern Baptists see the proposed policies as a sign of the denomination's narrowing fundamentalism. Others defend their right to establish policy.

Wagner said he wants to reverse the policies because they add another layer of requirements for Baptist missionaries at a time when the denomination needs to be more welcoming to outsiders.

Cox, on the other hand, said he supports the policies. A private prayer language, he said, goes against the doctrinal beliefs and practices of Southern Baptists. And he considers the denomination's baptism policy consistent with the Baptist Faith and Message.