Volunteer chaplains who serve the officers of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) in North Carolina have been told that they are no longer permitted to pray in the name of Jesus at public events.

Chaplains have been used for years in the department to not only support the officers, crime victims and their families, but to also offer prayers at public ceremonies and events. Terry Sartain, senior pastor of Horizon Christian Fellowship and a CMPD chaplain, was scheduled to pray at a recent promotion ceremony, but he backed out after he was told he could no longer pray in Jesus' name at public events or on public property.

The phone call he received about the policy change was "nice," he says, and he was offered the opportunity to withdraw "because they really respect my faith and the work that I've done as a chaplain." Sartain has worked with the CMPD for seven years.

"I understand the government's position, it's just I don't like it. I hate it, but I'm not going to compromise," Sartain told The Christian Post on Thursday.

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