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Leadership Forum Kicks Off With Inspiring Speakers; President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura W. Bush Set for Friday

LAKELAND, Fla., March 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Southeastern University's 4th Annual National Leadership Forum got underway Wednesday with a prestigious lineup of world-class speakers who had a common theme: to equip and empower people to become servant leaders. The school's administration, faculty and staff have a saying: "Southeastern University is dedicated to the proposition that servant leaders are world changers."

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The Forum is a 2-1/2-day gathering that will culminate Friday afternoon with consecutive and distinguished speakers -- Former President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura W. Bush. The venue, in Lakeland, Fla., is an intimate setting in the campus chapel which seats just over 700 people. Southeastern University is affiliated with the Assemblies of God.

On Wednesday, Brian Houston, pastor of Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia, talked about his passion "to be a leader who thinks generationally," a pastor who prepares the next generation to be, as it says in Psalm 45:16, "princes in the land." He also talked about moving forward and not dwelling on the past: "The great challenge of leadership is to move things to the unknown, the untried, and the unproved... I don't want to live my life serving history, I want to live my life making history." The Rev. Houston and his wife, Bobbie, established Hillsong Church in 1983; today, it is considered the largest church in Australia with more than 21,000 people in attendance.

Also in Wednesday's lineup of speakers were James Blanchard, retired chairman and CEO of Synovus Financial Corp., who led the company to experience its greatest growth and prosperity; Mark Floyd, CEO of SafeNet, Inc., a global leader in information security-protecting communications, digital identities and intellectual properties; and Erwin McManus, pastor and cultural architect of Mosaic, a Christian community in Los Angeles known throughout the world for its spiritual creativity and cosmopolitan diversity.

Among the points Blanchard made: "Leaders who will be the most influential in the next 10 years are leaders who will offer the most hope," and "I want to be a lifter, not a leaner." Floyd gave specifics about how leaders should go about the job of leading, and said they need to recognize that leadership is a full-time job. McManus offered a biblical basis for his views of leadership; he also said there is greatness in every human being, but that greatness "needs to be pulled out of them."

The audience of mostly students, church leaders and men and women from the business and professional community, seemed genuinely engaged, challenged and inspired.

Speakers scheduled for the National Leadership Forum's last two days are more of the foremost and compelling teachers and leaders of our time Craig Groeschel, Joyce Meyer, Bill Hybels, Andy Stanley, Patrick Lencioni, Marcus Buckingham, Ken Blanchard, John Kotter and Jim Collins.

Tommy Barnett, pastor of First Assembly of God in Phoenix, Ariz., will pose questions to President Bush in Friday's session after the former First Lady speaks. Mr. Bush's visit is an historic one; it is believed that it will be the first time a U.S. President or former U.S. President will have ever stepped foot on the campus of an Assemblies of God affiliated institution of higher education.

In previous years, the National Leadership Forum's speakers have included retired Gen. Colin L. Powell, Indianapolis Colts football coach Tony Dungy, and former GE Chairman and CEO Jack Welch.

With an enrollment of about 3,000 students, Southeastern University is one of the fastest-growing Christian universities in the country. It is accredited to offer 45 programs leading to bachelor's degrees and eight programs leading to master's degrees.

The University is located at 1000 Longfellow Boulevard, Lakeland, Fla. For more information, call 863-667-5000 or visit the website at www.seuniversity.edu. The National Leadership Forum's website is www.seuleadershipforum.com

SOURCE Southeastern University