Southern Baptists Elect New Leader

The Rev. Johnny M. Hunt, the pastor of an Atlanta area megachurch, was elected yesterday as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, and will take over as head of the nation's largest Protestant denomination as it is struggling with declining membership and decreasing number of baptisms.

Hunt beat out five other candidates for the unpaid job, which will transform him into the denomination's public face for the next year.

His election, at the SBC's annual meeting in Indianapolis, is seen as a victory for the more fundamentalist wing of the denomination, which led the conservative resurgence that began in the late 1970s and which takes a hard line on the inerrancy of scripture. It is seen as a rejection of young reformers, who have questioned the SBC leadership's reluctance to consider a wider range of issues, such as its bans on alcohol consumption and female pastors.

"This signals that the establishment conservatives are definitely in charge," said Greg Warner, executive editor of the Associated Baptist Press, an independent news service.

The current SBC president, the Rev. Frank S. Page, had been welcomed by reformers for opening up the SBC leadership structure and for keeping his focus on church growth and mission, rather than on culture war issues or internal doctrinal battles.

However, Warner said Hunt's election could signal that Page's tenure was just a "blip on the screen" for the denomination.

During a speech to pastors on Sunday, Hunt acknowledged the difficulties facing the SBC. Baptisms -- a key sign of spiritual health for Southern Baptists -- have fallen to a 20-year low. Membership dipped to 16.27 million last year, from 16.3 million. Except for a drop in membership in 1998, the last decrease was in 1926.