{"id":653,"date":"2009-01-19T03:01:01","date_gmt":"2009-01-19T03:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2009\/01\/should-rick-warren-say-in-the-name-of-jesus-at-the-end-of-his-inaugural-prayer.html"},"modified":"2009-01-19T03:01:01","modified_gmt":"2009-01-19T03:01:01","slug":"should-rick-warren-say-in-the-name-of-jesus-at-the-end-of-his-inaugural-prayer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/01\/should-rick-warren-say-in-the-name-of-jesus-at-the-end-of-his-inaugural-prayer.html","title":{"rendered":"Should Rick Warren Say \u201cIn the Name of Jesus\u201d at the End of His Inaugural Prayer?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part 5 of series: Rick Warren, the Obama Inauguration, and Praying in Jesus’ Name
\n<\/em>Permalink for this post<\/a> \/ Permalink for this series<\/a>
\nI began this series with the question: Should Rick Warren say \u201cin the name of Jesus\u201d (or something similar) at the end of his invocation at the inauguration of Barack Obama? Since I, like many other Christians, including Rick Warren, want my life to be guided by Scripture, I turned to the Bible to see what we could learn about praying in Jesus\u2019 name. We saw that Jesus himself instructed his followers to pray in his name. But we also saw that this did not mean they were necessarily to say \u201cin Jesus\u2019 name\u201d at the end of their prayers. In my last post, I explained that Christians are free to do this if they wish. In my opinion, there are potential benefits and potential detriments to saying \u201cin Jesus\u2019 name.\u201d Nevertheless, no Christian should feel compelled by Scripture to use this language, though it\u2019s a common practice in certain strains of Christianity.
\nTherefore, my answer to the question \u201cShould Rick Warren say \u2018in the name of Jesus\u2019 at the end of his inaugural prayer?\u201d might at first sound like a cop out. I believe he is free to follow his own conscience in the matter. There isn\u2019t one right answer to this question. It\u2019s the sort of thing Christians can disagree about.
\nBut what would I say if Rick came to me for advice? First of all, I would say, \u201cWhy in heaven\u2019s name are you coming to me for advice?\u201d Rick and I are not close friends, though we\u2019ve had several friendly conversations during the past ten years, and Rick was gracious enough to write the foreword for my book, Dare to Be True<\/a><\/em>. I\u2019m sure he has plenty of wise spiritual advisors (as well as millions of who think they know what he should do). Nevertheless, if Rick asked me to advise him on whether or not to say \u201cin Jesus\u2019 name\u201d at the end of his inaugural prayer, I think I\u2019d lay out for him the arguments on either side, and only then tell him what I would do if I were in shoes. So, here\u2019s my best shot at the reasons for and against saying \u201cin Jesus\u2019 name\u201d at the end of an inaugural prayer. (Photo: The cover of my book, Dare to Be True<\/em>.)
\nFirst of all, no matter what Rick Warren says, he will in fact be praying in Jesus\u2019 name because that\u2019s how Christians pray. To pray in Jesus\u2019 name is to pray in his authority and according to his agenda. It doesn\u2019t have to do with saying the name of Jesus in the prayer. Therefore, Warren is under no obligation to say \u201cin Jesus\u2019 name.\u201d (If you haven\u2019t read my earlier posts in this series, what I\u2019ve just said might seem odd to you, or even wrong. I\u2019d encourage you to go back and read this post<\/a> and the following one<\/a> as well.)
\nAny Christian who prays in a public, civic event, especially that includes a wide spectrum of participants, should realize that saying \u201cin Jesus\u2019 name\u201d would exclude some people. If Warren chooses to say \u201cin Jesus\u2019 name\u201d in his prayer, he is effectively saying, \u201cI\u2019m not praying here representing the citizens of this country. I\u2019m praying only on behalf of the Christians.\u201d This would not be an especially friendly gesture, nor one that would draw people closer to Christians and their Lord. (Photo: The cover of my book that I proposed to my publisher when I learned that Rick Warren would do the foreword. They didn’t go with my idea, and my book sales were about .02% of The Purpose Driven Life<\/em>. Oh well, my publisher got a good laugh, anyway.)
\nI\u2019ve heard people say that not to say \u201cin Jesus\u2019 name\u201d would be to dishonor him. That may be true. But I wonder if it\u2019s possible to leave off Jesus\u2019 name in imitation of his own teaching and example. Jesus talked, for example, about loving our neighbors (and even our enemies). It seems to me it would be more loving of Jews, Hindus, Muslims, and other non-Christian folk not to say \u201cin Jesus\u2019 name.\u201d Could this be rather like walking the second mile? Could this be an example of sacrificial servanthood? Don\u2019t we Christians follow a Lord who gave up his rights in order to be our Savior? Mightn\u2019t we do the same in our public prayers?
\nI\u2019m also impressed by the fact that Jesus seemed to hang out with lots of unsavory kinds of people, you know, tax collectors and sinners. Surely they didn\u2019t enjoy being with Jesus because he continually emphasized the ways in which they disagreed. I don\u2019t mean to suggest that non-Christian folk are unsavory, or any more sinful than I am. My point is that Jesus had a way of welcoming those who were not, at least at first, with him theologically. I wonder if choosing not to mention the name of Jesus in a civic prayer is a Jesus-like gesture of welcome.
\nIf Rick Warren sees his role as representing evangelical Christians in the mix of religious people who are offering inaugural prayers, then he may well want to say \u201cin Jesus\u2019 name.\u201d But if he sees his role as trying to include as many people as possible in prayer, speaking that which is in the hearts of Christians and non-Christian theists, then he would be well-advised not to mention the name of Jesus.
\nIf Warren plans not to say \u201cin Jesus\u2019 name\u201d in his inaugural prayer, I hope he explains his rationale in advance. Otherwise, he\u2019ll have a whole lot of Christians upset. He can explain later, of course. But I think it would be better if he did so in advance. If he plans to say \u201cin Jesus\u2019 name\u201d in his prayer, it might also be best to tell people in advance and explain why. That would, at least, take the focus off of his closing words and, perhaps, allow people to pay more attention to what he is really praying. But it appears, so far, that Warren is not making a widespread statement of his intentions.
\nI do want to note that one of my faithful blog commentors, Bill Goff, who attends Saddleback Church, where Warren is the senior pastor, said this in a recent comment<\/a>: \u201cI am confident that Rick Warren will use the name Jesus in his prayer. Why? Because I was present in the congregation last Sunday when I heard him assure us that that is what he intends to do.\u201d
\nSo, I think a strong case can be made for Rick Warren\u2019s not saying \u201cin Jesus\u2019 name\u201d at the end of his inaugural prayer. But I think a strong case can be made for the other side as well. Tomorrow I\u2019ll lay out the argument on the other side, and then explain what I would do if I were in Warren\u2019s shoes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 5 of series: Rick Warren, the Obama Inauguration, and Praying in Jesus’ Name Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series I began this series with the question: Should Rick Warren say \u201cin the name of Jesus\u201d (or something similar) at the end of his invocation at the inauguration of Barack Obama? Since…<\/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-653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-praying-in-jesuss-name"],"yoast_head":"\nShould Rick Warren Say \u201cIn the Name of Jesus\u201d at the End of His Inaugural Prayer? - Mark D. 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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\/653","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=653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}