KirbyJon Caldwell, who delivered a prayer at one of President Bush’s inauguration, predicts that Rick Warren will have to pray “in Jesus’s name” when he gives the invocation in a few weeks. (Hat tip: GetReligion)

“If Rick Warren does not pray in Jesus’ name, some folks are going to be very disappointed,” [Rev. Kirbyjon] Caldwell said in a recent phone interview. “Since he’s evangelical, his own tribe, if you will, will have some angst if he does not do that.”

But the question is not whether he prays in Jesus’ name. Billy Graham prayed in Jesus’ name and no one complained. It was Franklin Graham, Billy’s son, who took it a step further, asking listeners to “acknowledge You alone as our Lord, our Savior and Redeemer.” Big difference. The father prayed in Jesus’s name; the son demanded that all Americans acknowledge Christ as savior.
Moreover, as Joel Hunter and Donald Miller showed at the Democratic convention, there are ways of keeping true to your faith while being inclusive at the same time.
UPDATE/CLARIFICATION: Cathy Grossman at USAToday pinged me to point out that Billy Graham didn’t pray in Jesus’ name. Technically, that’s true. He prayed “in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” He didn’t use the J-word the way Franklin did or KirbyJon Calwell did.
Back in 2001, scholar Martin Marty scolded the two preachers at the time, “The final prayer rather ruled out a lot of people…It implied that if you didn’t join in, you were an outsider. People don’t mind the prayers, they mind that assumption of exclusivism and Christian privilege. This is an event not only for the president, it’s for all the people of the United States. The problem with saying Jesus is that it cuts off access to the Father for Muslims, Jews and others.”
I basically agree with Marty that Franklin’s and KirbyJon’s prayers did cross that line. But by his logic, didn’t Billy Graham also cross that line when he prayed “in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” I’m not aware of any other deities besides Jesus who go by that particular appelation.
I think maybe we’re going soft on Billy Graham because, well, he’s Billy Graham.