{"id":364,"date":"2008-02-25T10:40:12","date_gmt":"2008-02-25T10:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2008\/02\/praying-in-jesuss-name-in-civic-gatherings-introduction.html"},"modified":"2008-02-25T10:40:12","modified_gmt":"2008-02-25T10:40:12","slug":"praying-in-jesuss-name-in-civic-gatherings-introduction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/02\/praying-in-jesuss-name-in-civic-gatherings-introduction.html","title":{"rendered":"Praying \u00e2??In Jesus\u00e2??s Name\u00e2?\u009d in Civic Gatherings: Introduction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part 1 of series: Should Christians Pray “In Jesus’s Name” in Civic Gatherings?
\n<\/em>Permalink for this post<\/a> \/ Permalink for this series<\/a>
\nRecently I was talking with a friend about praying in civic gatherings such as city council meetings or community luncheons. “When you pray in meetings like these,” he asked, “do you pray in the name of Jesus?”
\n“Yes,” I answered, “always. But not in the way you might be thinking.” I went on to explain how I pray in the name of Jesus when I’m asked to pray in public, non-religious contexts. So I thought it might be interesting to share my practice here.
\nWhen I was Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church, I was called upon occasionally to pray in civic contexts. Sometimes I prayed before Irvine City Council meetings. Sometimes I prayed at community luncheons sponsored by secular organizations. When it was my turn to pray, I always made a point of actually praying, that is, of speaking to God and not using prayer as a way of addressing those gathered. I also made an effort to be relatively short. You may be surprised (then again, you may not<\/em> be surprised) to learn that many pastors did just the opposite. They used their “prayer” as an occasion to preach. And they often went on way too long. One organizer of a community event thanked me profusely for being prayerful and brief. I expect this might account for why I got invited to be the prayer giver at many civic events. (Photo: Irvine City Hall, where the City Council meets)
\nWhen I prayed in civic gatherings, I did not end my prayers with the words, “in Jesus’s name” or something similar. This really bugged a pastor friend of mine, who insisted adamantly that all civic prayer should mention Jesus, and that I was failing to honor Christ by my practice.
\nI, on the contrary, believe that saying the words “in Jesus’s name” in civic prayer gatherings is something about which Christians may rightly disagree. I don’t think there’s one right answer to this question. Some of us believe that we should say “in Jesus’s name” at the end of public prayers. We should do this, they argue, both to in obedience to Jesus and to help draw people to him. Other Christians prefer not to say “in Jesus’s name” at the end of their civic prayers, because they don’t want to offend people or because they want to be more inclusive of those gathered, many of whom may not be Christians.
\nI fall in the second camp, in that I don’t say “in Jesus’s name” when I pray in civic gatherings. Yet I still claim to pray in Jesus’s name. This requires some explanation. So, let me address two questions:<\/p>\n

1. What does it mean to pray in the name of Jesus?
\n2. Why don’t I say “in Jesus’s name” at the end of a civic prayer?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I’ll take on the first question tomorrow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 1 of series: Should Christians Pray “In Jesus’s Name” in Civic Gatherings? Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series Recently I was talking with a friend about praying in civic gatherings such as city council meetings or community luncheons. “When you pray in meetings like these,” he asked, “do you pray in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-praying-in-jesuss-name"],"yoast_head":"\nPraying \u00e2??In Jesus\u00e2??s Name\u00e2?\u009d in Civic Gatherings: Introduction - Mark D. Roberts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/02\/praying-in-jesuss-name-in-civic-gatherings-introduction.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Praying \u00e2??In Jesus\u00e2??s Name\u00e2?\u009d in Civic Gatherings: Introduction - Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Part 1 of series: Should Christians Pray “In Jesus’s Name” in Civic Gatherings? 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Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=364"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}