TALLAHASSEE, Fla.--Florida Senate President James E. "Jim" King apologized to members of the legislative body after a Florida Baptist pastor, Clayton Cloer, prayed in the name of Jesus in the Senate chamber as guest chaplain of the day.

According to Baptist Press, Cloer mentioned Jesus twice -- in the context of thanking God for the religious freedom "to believe in Jesus Christ" and concluding the supplication "... in the name of Jesus. Amen."

King told the body, "To those of you who were offended or feel hurt, I personally apologize." He indicated that Christian prayers had been offered "three days in a row.

"I recognize that some of our Jewish members take offense to some of the things that were included in the prayer. All I can assure you is that we will intensify the language that we give to each minister, each priest, each rabbi before they come here," he said.

According to a copy of the letter from Secretary of the Senate Faye W. Blanton to Cloer obtained by the Florida Baptist Witness, the guidelines -- drawn from the National Conference for Community and Justice -- call for prayer that:

-- seeks the highest common denominator without compromise of conscience;

-- calls upon God on behalf of the group as a whole and avoids individual petitions;

-- uses forms and vocabulary that allow persons of different faiths to give assent to what is said;

-- uses universal, inclusive terms for the deity rather than proper names for divine manifestations. Some opening ascriptions are "Mighty God," "Our Maker," "Source of All Being," or "Creator and Sustainer." Possible closing words include "Hear Our Prayer," "In Thy Name" or simply "Amen"; and

-- remains faithful to the purposes of acknowledging divine presence and seeking blessing; not preaching, arguing or testifying.

Cloer noted that the guidelines protect the compromise of conscience and that his conscience requires that he pray in Jesus' name.

A Southern Baptist minister who works with legislators told the Witness that the opposition to the use of Jesus' name in the Senate has caused him to decline invitations to pray in the upper chamber of the Florida legislature.

Others such as Pastor Rick Warren, author of the bestselling "Purpose Driven Life," prayed in the Florida House the same day without incident. Warren reportedly prayed, "In your name. Amen."

In an e-mail interview with Florida Baptist Witness, Warren said, "No one gave me any instructions on what to pray or what not to say.... I always end my prayers with, 'In Your name,' or 'In Jesus' name,' as the Bible teaches."

Cloer said he will continue to pray publicly in the name of Jesus.