Page to victory over Ronnie Floyd, pastor of a northwest Arkansas megachurch, and Jerry Sutton, a prominent conservative who leads one of Nashville, Tenn.'s most politically active congregations.

"They had their concerns, and their concerns were the battle for the Bible," Burleson said. "And you know what? I affirm my respect for them over that. But sometimes you win and you've got to move on. . . . I think today we've moved on."

"What they (other Americans) can say is that Southern Baptists are concerned about the good news getting out to people in need," Burleson said. "They can say of Southern Baptists, 'Man, those folks love people.' That's what I hope they hear, loud and clear."

Bill Leonard, dean of Wake Forest University's School of Divinity and a frequent critic of SBC leadership, is less sure that the Southern Baptists have reached a turning point. He noted that Sutton and Floyd likely split the traditional conservative vote, allowing Page to eke out his win.

"Whether it becomes a 'kinder, gentler' denomination, publicly, depends on how much the traditional leadership especially certain seminary presidents respond," Leonard said in an e-mail interview.

"Page's narrow election may give false hope to many," said Robert Parham of Nashville's Baptist Center for Ethics, which also opposes the SBC leadership. "Even if Page wants to pursue a reformation, he can't overturn decades of fundamentalist control and organizations stocked with fundamentalist employees."

Page says his election should not be viewed as a harbinger of moderating Southern Baptist philosophy. But he did say he hopes for a "broadening" of voices heard within the denomination and embraced the notion of a "kinder, gentler" SBC.

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