As the Southern Baptist Convention returns to North Carolina for the first time in 90 years, it brings with it a new spirit of contention missing from the denomination's leadership in recent times.

Since the Southern Baptists -- the nation's largest Protestant denomination -- solidified their conservative ranks, the office of president has been won by an unchallenged candidate.

But when the annual meeting opens at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex on Tuesday, three candidates will vie for the presidency -- a first in more than a decade. The meeting will consider a host of contentious resolutions and recommendations as well.

About 12,000 to 14,000 delegates, called messengers, will converge from across the United States to attend the two-day meeting in Greensboro. The convention, which offers pastors and lay leaders an opportunity to socialize, network and weigh in on denominational affairs, has not met in North Carolina since its 1916 meeting in Asheville.

A few years ago, Greensboro was chosen over bigger cities such as Atlanta, Dallas and Nashville, because it is less expensive.

Of late, the denomination has been looking to save money, in part because attendance at annual meetings has dropped. As the denomination has become more theologically conservative -- declaring, for example, that only men can serve as pastors and that wives must submit to their husbands -- many have chosen to stay home.

Increasingly, Southern Baptists have struggled to gain followers, although they've done better than other mainline denominations.

Though total membership continues to climb slowly, the number of baptisms in 2005 was lower than it was in 1950 -- 371,850 in 2005, compared with 376,085 in 1950. That worries Baptists, who believe their faith calls them to convert as many non-Christians as possible.

Moreover, as a percentage of the U.S. population, Southern Baptists made a small surge five years ago, but are now back where they were 45 years ago. They made up nearly 5.5 percent of the nation's population in 1960 and did so again in 2005.

"Increasingly, the Southern Baptist Convention is experiencing the same difficulties that other denominations experience: a declining sense of denominational connection among churches and church people," said Bill Leonard, the dean of the divinity school at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem and one of the leading authorities on Baptist life.

(The term "Southern Baptist Convention" refers both to the denomination and the annual meeting.)

The return to doctrinal orthodoxy -- a belief that the Bible is literally true and that Jesus is the only way to salvation -- has not appeared to be the key to growth, and has not brought greater loyalty to the denomination, Leonard said. American Christians are increasingly decamping to nondenominational and charismatic churches, known for their exuberant worship.

Stability and change

Still, as their leaders point out, Southern Baptists are not retreating from their conservative commitments.

"It's not like it's being portrayed as an upheaval among conservatives," said Daniel Akin, the president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest.

"Is the SBC even close to what it experienced in 1979?" Akin added, referring to the rancor that erupted when moderates first lost leadership within the denomination. "It's not even in the same galaxy."

The convention president serves as the primary spokesman for the denomination and appoints people to key committees.

The three candidates for the presidency of the denomination -- the Rev. Ronnie Floyd of Springdale, Ark., the Rev. Frank Page of Taylors, S.C., and the Rev. Jerry Sutton of Nashville -- all read the Bible literally and are considered conservative standard-bearers. But Page, the pastor of First Baptist Church in Taylors, has criticized the denomination's leadership as being detached and unresponsive.

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