‘My walk with Christ’: Pompeo gives contentious
speech on being Christian leader
Jewish Democratic activist calls secretary’s address
at State Department event ‘an affront to our
separation of church and state’
By Eric Cortellessa
October 15, 2019 "Information
Clearing House" -
WASHINGTON — In his official
capacity as America’s top diplomat, US Secretary of
State Mike Pompeo delivered a speech on Friday on
“what it means to be a Christian leader” during a
State Department event, prompting criticism that he
crossed the line denoting the separation of church
and state.
Addressing the American Association of Christian
Counselors in Nashville, Tennessee, Pompeo
emphasized what he deemed the main components of
Christian leadership.
“I want to use my time today to think about what
it means to be a Christian leader, a Christian
leader in three areas,” he said. “First is
disposition. How is it that one carries oneself in
the world? The second is dialogue, talking. How is
it that we engage with others around the world? And
third is decisions, decisions that we make.”
The speech — which also focused on religious
freedom — was
titled, “Being a Christian Leader.”
Aaron Keyak, the former head of the National
Jewish Democratic Council, questioned the propriety
of Pompeo’s using his platform to promote a
particular religion.
“There’s obviously no issue with the secretary of
state being a leader, nor his being a proud
Christian,” Keyak told The Times of Israel. “But
it’s a problem that Secretary Pompeo thinks it’s
appropriate to put those two words together and hold
an official State Department event on being a
Christian leader.”
“He’s an American leader, who is also a
practicing Christian,” Keyak went on. “Him talking
as a Christian leader and billing it as such is an
affront to our separation of church and state.”
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In his speech, Pompeo recounted a
religious awakening experienced as a
college student at West Point.
“Like a lot of people – and you don’t have to
admit it today – but like a lot of people, I grew up
going to church but with a relationship with God
that wasn’t especially important for me, because I
was destined to be in the NBA,” he joked. “But as I
grew older, when I started my time at the United
States Military Academy, there were two young men
who invited me to a Bible study. They were very
intentional to me in explaining God’s word. And
after some study and discipleship with them, they
helped me begin my walk with Christ.”
At the confab, Pompeo was given a temporary
escape from the controversies embroiling him in
Washington.
His de facto chief of staff, Michael McKinley,
resigned on Friday over the Trump
administration’s handlings in Ukraine — which is now
at the center of the impeachment probe — and its
treatment of diplomats.
Over the last week, Pompeo has also
refused to cooperate with House Democrats’
inquiry.
The probe was launched after a whistleblower
complaint and the subsequent release of the White
House record of a July 25 call between Trump and
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Trump
administration, including through Trump’s personal
lawyer Rudy Giuliani, is suspected of trying to
press Ukrainian officials to investigate baseless
corruption allegations against Trump rival and
Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden and his
son Hunter, who was involved with a gas company
there.
On Friday, former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie
Yovanovitch
testified before impeachment investigators that
Trump himself had pressured the State Department to
oust her from her post and get her out of the
country. The former ambassador said she was fired
from her post after insisting that Giuliani’s
requests to Ukrainian officials for investigations
be relayed through official channels, according to a
former diplomat who has spoken with her.
Overnight Friday-Saturday, the
New York Times reported that Giuliani is being
investigated by federal prosecutors in New York for
possible lobbying violations.
Two Florida businessmen tied to Giuliani were
charged Thursday with federal campaign finance
violations. The men, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, had
key roles in Giuliani’s efforts to launch the
Ukrainian corruption investigation against Biden and
his son. According to the indictment against the
men, they agreed to raise $20,000 or more for a US
congressman to seek his “assistance in causing the
US Government to remove or recall the then-US
Ambassador to Ukraine.”
In his Nashville speech on Friday, Pompeo did not
address the firestorm in Washington.
“Scripture calls us to be ‘transformed by the
renewing of minds,'” he said. “And so I keep a Bible
open on my desk, and I try every morning to try and
get in a little bit of time with the Book. I need my
mind renewed with truth each day. And part of that
truth is, as my son reminds me, is to be humble.”
He closed by telling the audience: “You will all
be in my prayers as you do God’s work, and I covet
yours as I lead American diplomacy.”
This article was originally published by "Times
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