GREENSBORO, N.C. — The surprise pick for president of the Southern Baptist Convention says he'll stand up for the denomination's conservative beliefs — but he'll do it with a smile.

The pastor from South Carolina comes from outside the conservative leadership that has held tight control of the nation's largest Protestant denomination for more than a decade. But he cautions that does not represent a move toward the political middle for a group fervently opposed to abortion and gay sex.

Asked how he would determine who would have a voice in Southern Baptist leadership under his presidency, Page cited "a sweet spirit" as the first requirement.

SBC leaders have often come off as filled with righteous fury in recent years, a carry-over from the long, vicious battle for control of the denomination that conservatives and moderates waged in the 1970s and 1980s. The struggle ended when moderates dropped out of SBC politics in the early 1990s, but a confrontational tone had been set for a generation of conservative SBC leaders.

SBC declarations banned women pastors and declared that wives should "submit graciously" to their husbands. On Wednesday, a day after Page's election, the SBC's annual meeting adopted a resolution urging that anyone who drinks alcohol be barred from leadership positions.

A conservative like Page, he was nonetheless dismayed at the way SBC leaders handled dissent within the powerful International Missions Board after he joined the panel.

Burleson was publicly reprimanded by board members for writing about the board's internal debates on his Internet blog and threatened with removal, which stoked his desire for change.

Burleson and other dissenting bloggers were given part of the credit for carrying the little-known Page to victory over Ronnie Floyd, pastor of a Northwest Arkansas megachurch, and Jerry Sutton, a prominent conservative who leads one of Nashville'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."

This is cache, read story here