Mike Pompeo joins LU President Dondi Costin for fireside chat on wide range of political, social issues

The Liberty University Helms School of Government hosted a fireside chat on Monday with President Dondi Costin and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to discuss various issues in today’s political arena and provide a chance for students to ask questions of their own.

Pompeo, who serves as a Distinguished Chair of the School of Government, began the talk by sharing about his background, from serving in the U.S. Army to becoming a Christian. Although he grew up in a Christian household, he said he accepted Christ as his Savior when he attended a Bible study held by two other cadets.

Following his time in the military, Pompeo attended Harvard Law School. In 2010, he ran for Congress in his home state of Kansas. He said he had little political experience at that point but understood the dangers of political overreach from previous experience as a CEO and founder of a small business. He served in Congress for six years before his appointment as the director of the CIA in 2017 and the 70th secretary of state in 2018.

Pompeo urged those in the audience to consider serving in politics, be it working in the Virginia state office, on Capitol Hill, or beyond.

“I hope that people will consider formal service somewhere in their life,” he said. “There is something about putting yourself forth and convincing others to vote for you that is unique and special and both hard and wonderful. You get to meet some amazing people.”

Pompeo next shared about his work as a member of former President Donald Trump’s Cabinet, which included forming a chaplain’s corps at the CIA. While military branches already had this in place, he wanted to ensure that people had a place to worship and be edified at the CIA.

“Those are the kind of projects that keep you going and grounded and remind you that you are in fact serving America,” he said. “You raise your right hand to defend the U.S. Constitution and America, but there is something out there bigger than that. Even as immense as that is, there’s something bigger.”

Costin and Pompeo next discussed a variety of political topics, such as immigration, religious liberty, abortion, turmoil in the Middle East, and the threat of the Chinese Communist Party.

Pompeo highlighted the current immigration issues plaguing the U.S. and noted that it is because people want to live the American way of life.

“There’s a reason we need to get sovereignty right on our southern border, and it’s because the whole world gets that this is a special place,” Pompeo said, noting that countries such as Russia and China do not have the same influx of immigrants. “I’m convinced we’ll wind our way out of (the immigration crisis), but it’s going to take you (maintaining the American way of life). If you’re counting on someone else to lift the heavy oar, I would urge you to rethink it. It’s going to take each of you in your place and your walk of life. Go to the Little League team, sponsor the bowling club, or whatever it is. Those are the places that are different. You don’t have any of that in China.”

Pompeo said that during his time as secretary of state, he partnered with former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson and former Ambassador-At-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback to research how religious freedom in other countries affects the U.S. He also recalled speaking with foreign national leaders to demonstrate the benefits that religious freedom has on the welfare of one’s citizens.

“Nations that permit more religious liberty in their country are much less likely to be averse to the United States. … It’s important for the U.S. to be leading the charge,” he said.

Pompeo closed the initial discussion by urging the students in attendance to take advantage of the opportunity they have to receive a Christian education. He also encouraged them to have healthy discourse with those who are not of the Christian faith and may criticize their decision to attend Liberty.

“Hold dearly to the things that you have learned and love those who may not have had this incredible opportunity (to study at Liberty),” he said. “If you do those two things, you will encounter a world that is sometimes too secular and sometimes lost, and you will help bring it back closer to (the kind of place) you experienced while you were here.”

Following the discussion, students asked questions on topics ranging from U.S. involvement in foreign conflicts to UFOs, the importance of religious freedom in America over strictly Christian freedom, how to live out one’s faith in a government position, and the importance of not taking Scripture out of context.

Regarding UFOs and whether they are from foreign government or somewhere outside of Earth, both Costin and Pompeo (who cofounded an aerospace company in Kansas before entering politics) stated that their faith in God outweighs any worry they have of the threat of extraterrestrial life.

“God is way bigger than any of us, so we know the special relationship that He has with us by both general and special revelation,” Costin said. “I don’t have the slightest idea what other relationships He may have outside of this universe in which we live, so it wouldn’t bother me in the least because I know the relationship that we have with Him. It wouldn’t shake my faith, even for a nanosecond.”

Pompeo concluded by discussing how political figures from different parties and even other countries have manipulated Scripture to support their ideologies. He said the solution to this problem can be found on Liberty’s campus where students are being educated on how to properly interpret the truth of the Bible.

“I’m counting on Liberty and Christian universities across America as well as faith leaders like those who are chaplains, when that happens (misuse of Scripture), to bring that back to the Christian tradition we all know to be right,” he said.