It has been announced that Sarah Palin will appear in the tiny town of Point Clear, Alabama to give a speech at a fundraiser for the “Exceptional Foundation.” The Exceptional Foundation of Baldwin Country Alabama advertises itself as a 501 (c) 3, non-profit organization, dedicated to: “meeting the social and recreational needs of mentally and/or physically challenged individuals in Baldwin and Mobile counties.

The Exceptional Foundation is a new 501(c)3 serving individuals from age five through adulthood.” The Exceptional Foundation acknowledges that it is a new non-profit, and that if all goes as planned it wouldn’t begin to provide services until the Fall of 2011. As reported in my April 7, 2011 post, I contacted the Exceptional Foundation to learn more about the foundation and Palin’s appearance. On the 7th I was only able to speak with the receptionist. However on the 8th, Mr. Callahan, the founder, returned my call, and provided some additional information. He reported:

1. The Exceptional Foundation has not yet been approved by the IRS as a charitable foundation. The application was not submitted until “early March”. With three weeks before the Palin event, it is unclear whether they will receive the “letter of determination” from the IRS before the event. Thus, Palin agreed to give her speech regardless of whether the organization was in fact considered by the IRS to be a charitable organization.

2. The Exceptional Foundation had approached Sarah Palin with four different proposals for appearing to help the foundation, each of which was rejected.

3. It wasn’t until the Exceptional Foundation agreed to pay her fee of $100,000.00 that the Empress agreed to come.

4. The Exceptional Foundation is attempting to raise start up capital for the foundation, and if for any reason the money is not raised, Mr. Callahan will be personally responsible for the debt.

Mr. Callahan has dedicated his time and financial resources to providing assistance to the mentally and physically handicapped. It would seem that he is the definition of a person with a “servant’s heart.” “Servanthood” is the state, condition, or quality of one who lives as a servant. Further, a servant is first of all one who is under submission to another. For Christians, this means submission to God first, and then submission to one another. To put it another way, servanthood is the condition or state of being a servant to others, of ministry to others rather than the service of self. It means willingly giving of oneself to minister for and to others and to do whatever it takes to accomplish what is best for another. If “the underlying motive and goal is some form of self love, like the praise of others for the service rendered, then one’s service is in reality hypocritical. This type of service is really aimed at serving selfish ends—usually in the futile pursuit of personal significance through something like praise, power, or status.”

In our entire conversation, Mr.Callahan never referred to himself as having a “servant’s heart” or being a “servant.” The first time we heard from Sarah Palin in her speech before the RNC she indicated that she had a servant’s heart when she said:

“But we are expected to govern with integrity, good will, clear convictions, and … a servant’s heart.”

Her statement about having a “Servant’s Heart” was discussed immediately after that speech:

“Sarah Palin’s references to the Servant Heart comes from the idea that Jesus of Nazareth asked his followers to dedicate themselves to a life of service …”

”Christ’s evangelists must humbly seek to empty themselves of all but their personal authenticity in order to become the servants of others, and churches must seek to transform and enrich culture, all for the glory of God.”

(Mark 7:8,9,13; Gen. 4:21,22; I Cor. 9:19-23; Phil. 2:5-7; II Cor. 4:5)

By promoting herself as having a “servant’s heart” Sarah Palin has proved that she lacks a servant’s heart. Describing herself as having a “servant’s heart” is aimed at the selfish end of “the pursuit of significance through something like praise, power or status.” By requiring the payment of an exorbitant sum of money for an hour long speech she establishes herself as a mercenary. “Mercenary” is defined as a person “motivated solely by a desire for monetary or material gain.” It has been over one year since Palin was reported to have made over $12,000,000 in nine months. . Since that time Palin has received additional millions from additional speeches, her TLC show, her appearances on Fox, and her second book. To assume Palin is now worth in excess of $24,000,000 would be a conservative estimate of her net worth. Yet she is insistent on charging this charitable start-up her normal speaking fee of $100,000. Mr. Callahan has a Servant’s Heart. Sarah Palin has the heart of a mercenary.