Governor Palin at SEU National Leadership Forum: God Deserves So Much Better

Governor Palin was one of several speakers to address the Southeastern University National Leadership Forum yesterday. The Christian school gave speakers a perfect opportunity to discuss faith and hope. The SEU Forum website promoted the event this way:

Led by speakers who are among the most well-known leaders in America, Southeastern University’s National Leadership Forum offers the opportunity to learn from some of our nation’s most prominent leadership experts.

Following the event, the website read:

Southeastern University’s seventh annual National Leadership Forum kicked off Thursday morning, bringing together some of the world’s most respected leaders for two days of messages focused on the theme of servant leadership.

Hundreds of business leaders, pastors, entrepreneurs, and aspiring leaders were treated to more than five hours of leadership wisdom and practical application in SEU’s Bush Chapel.

This year’s speakers were:

Phil Cooke
Jon Gordon
AmyK Hutchens
Dave Martin
John Maxwell
John Ortberg
Nancy Ortberg
Sarah Palin
Mark Sanborn
Pat Williams

In an article called “Palin’s Cry: Cling to Your God, Guns, Constitution,” Mary Toothman writes:

Former Alaskan governor Sarah Palin was fired up about God and country when she spoke Friday at Southeastern University in Lakeland. And she was dressed for the part.

The 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate visited the Sunshine State at the request of the organizers of the school’s seventh annual leadership forum. She was quite a presence on the stage, in a lipstick-red suit and fierce high heels.

Her passionate talk was peppered with such vibrant cries as “Cling to your God, your guns, your Constitution!” and pleas for the next generation to change the country’s moral fiber. “That will make our foundation crumble if we choose to ignore it,” she said.

Not one to tiptoe around sensitive topics, Palin got right to the point on reasons she said the country is in crisis.

“Today, look around, and don’t you wonder sometimes if, as a nation, we have forgotten God altogether? This is a crucial question,” she said.

[...]

Palin said Friday she was happy to visit a Christian school, and she encouraged students to go forth and spread the word. She encouraged them to “infiltrate” the nation. Study journalism, she said. Get into Hollywood and the sports world.

“Get out there and influence culture,” she said.

Palin closed her talk with a battle cry.

“The future of the country depends on what you do,” she said. “God bless you.”

After the speech, Palin answered questions from Southeastern professor Christina Gard, who was Miss Alaska in 2004. It was then Palin said something that brought the strongest applause.

Asked how she dealt with critics, Palin said it’s important to know who you are, and that’s why she speaks out for God publicly in a country where she said it’s often frowned upon or against the law to talk about religious beliefs.

“God deserves so much better than what we give him,” she said. “What has happened when we can’t say his name in public?”

Read the full article here.

(h/t Stacy Drake)

“As a Christian, an American, and a teacher, I have one motivation: the TRUTH!