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How an Evangelical Pastor’s Unexpected Prayer Made DNC History
August 16, 2024
In the summer of 2008, as Barack Obama stood on the brink of making history as the first Black candidate nominated by a major party, the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Denver buzzed with the energy of a nation on the cusp of change.
Amid this historic moment, Joel Hunter, a prominent evangelical pastor from Central Florida, received an unexpected invitation to deliver the closing prayer at the convention—a decision that would reshape the role of prayer in the most political of settings.
As the 2024 DNC approaches in Chicago next week—a moment that mirrors 2008 for the significant milestones it represents in American politics—I met with Hunter to reflect on his pivotal role in that historic event. Sixteen years later, his experience remains deeply relevant, especially as the intersection of faith and partisan politics stirs intense debate.
For many, the idea of an evangelical pastor praying at a Democratic convention seemed improbable, even controversial.
“In my end of the family, in the conservative evangelicals, that’s like certain death,” Hunter recalled. The stakes were high, so he sought counsel from someone who understood this pressure intimately: Reverend Billy Graham. Graham’s simple yet profound advice—”When somebody asks a pastor to pray, they pray”—gave Hunter the courage to move to accept the opportunity full bore, aware of the potential fallout.
Inspired by Obama’s inclusive vision and guided by Jesus’ compassion for the left out, Hunter crafted a prayer with a diverse audience in mind.
“I wanted to create something that would resonate with people of all faiths—or none at all,” he explained. “This wasn’t just about representing my own tradition; it was about acknowledging that we are all part of something larger and that faith, at its best, unites us rather than divides us.”
Hunter’s prayer at the DNC was more than an invocation; it was a bold statement of civic pluralism. By inviting people from diverse religious backgrounds to participate, he demonstrated how faith can serve as a bridge, not a barrier, even in the charged arena of national politics.
Transcript of the prayer
“We are all here to devote ourselves to the improvement of this country we love. In one of the best traditions of our country, would those of you who are people of faith join me in asking for God’s help.”
Almighty God, let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us reverence for all life. Give us compassion for the most vulnerable among us—the babies, the children, the poor, the sick, the enslaved, the persecuted—for all of those who have been left out of the advantaged world. Give us a zeal to clean the environment we have polluted while we create an economy where everyone who can work can have a job. Help us to honor those who defend our country by working harder and smarter for peace. Help us to counter those that incite fear and hatred by becoming people who are informed and respectful and are known for the principles and projects that aim higher than merely our own group’s benefit. Guide Barack Obama and all of our leaders to be agents of your will and recipients of your wisdom, and grant that all of us citizens will continually do our part to contribute to the common good so that we can truly love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
Now I interrupt this prayer for a closing instruction. I want to personalize this; I want this to be a participatory prayer. And so therefore, because we are in a country that is still welcoming of all faiths, I would like all of us to close this prayer in the way your faith tradition would close your prayer. On the count of three, I want all of you to end this prayer—your prayer—the way you usually end prayer. Are you ready: 1, 2, 3, in Jesus’ name, amen. Let’s go change the world for good.”
This unconventional prayer and its setting came at a cost. The backlash from Hunter’s congregation was swift and severe. Some members left the church, unable to reconcile Hunter’s actions with their beliefs.
Reflecting on this, Hunter said, “If we are doing what we need to do, we will always get blowback from people who are afraid or who can only think within their own circles, but they will never get any better or any more mature if we avoid that kind of discomfort.”
He continued, “My mama used to say, ‘Joey, you never learn from people who are just like you.’
You never learn from people who are just like you.
As a pastor, I didn’t want to keep my congregation immature by isolating them and just affirming those values. But to tell you the truth, it really did hurt to see some of those people leave. I’d baptized some of those people. I’d married some of those people, but I understood.”
Prayers are ubiquitous at the RNC and DNC, often ranging from fervent Christian appeals for divine intervention in the election to what can seem like perfunctory nods to party platform piety.
What makes Hunter’s prayer extraordinary is its authenticity—deeply rooted in his Christian convictions yet deliberately avoiding the conflation of God’s will with any specific candidate. Most uniquely, it was inclusive. While Hunter would have offered an explicitly Christian prayer in nearly any other setting, this civic moment called for a different approach that embraced people of all traditions. Even in the civic arena, prayer and faith have a place, calling us to a better nature and reminding us that we cannot solve all our country’s challenges alone.
The challenges Hunter faced within his community as a response to his prayer are mirrored in today’s political landscape, where debates over religious diversity continue to simmer. This was evident at the 2024 RNC, where Sikh leader Harmeet Kaur Dhillon’s prayer sparked intra-party controversy. Despite being the most religiously diverse nation in the world, these moments of faith-based prejudice reveal that America still has a long way to go to effectively engage that diversity.
Hunter’s approach challenges us to reflect on how we can use faith to build bridges over our divides. “I knew there would be pushback, but I also knew that this was an opportunity to show that faith could be a bridge, not a barrier,” Hunter said, emphasizing the importance of engaging in the public square with humility and respect.
In a time when religious and partisan divisions threaten to tear at the fabric of our democracy, Hunter’s example serves as a powerful call to action, reminding us that even in the face of adversity, faith can be a unifying force to build a community grounded in shared values where every voice is heard, and no one is left out.
What better way to start than the way Hunter did – with a simple invitation to participate?
Rollie Olson “Interfaith America”
