Leaving Lust Vegas from Ed Young on Vimeo.
Rev. Ed Young The pastor of Fellowship Church, a mega church which draws about 20,000 people each Sunday and also has campuses in Fort Worth, Plano and Miami says he will challenge married congregants during his sermon Sunday to have sex for seven straight days - and he plans to practice what he preaches. Young, said he believes society promotes promiscuity and he wants to reclaim sex for married couples. Sex should be a nurturing, spiritual act that strengthens marriages, he said.
Young said he will deliver his seven-day sex challenge while sitting on a bed in front of his Dallas-area church campus.
So is this a little over board or is this guy have a legitimate claim? Well, I love the idea and as long as you're married, to the opposite sex, it can't hurt a thing!
7 comments:
Hey Blake,
I unfortunately have to respectfully disagree.
Before I do though, I will affirm the following things:
1) Sex is a good gift of the Creator-God, given at the creation, to be enjoyed within the bonds of marriage between a man and a woman.
2) The church should affirm this gift and encourage men and women to give themselves up to each other in this way in mutual love, as the Bible affirms.
3) The church should do whatever it can (within the Bible's definitions) to build and maintain strong marriages.
However, I believe that a church promoting a "sex challenge" is very misguided. What does a "sex challenge" have to do with what the church is about, namely, the preaching of Christ crucified and risen for the forgiveness of sins and for the healing of the world? That's what preaching should always be about, because its what unbelievers need to be saved and what believers need as the meat for their spiritual growth.
This sort of thing also (like so many other things in the megachurch) targets people and gives them what they want, feeds their "felt need." Such preaching focuses on specific groups of people and targets them so as to make sure people keep coming to church (because for the megachurches it's all about numbers). What about the people who aren't married, either due to singleness or divorce? Or young adults who are tempted by sexual sin? Doesn't this over-focus on sexuality alienate them, making them either jealous of their brothers and sisters, or worse yet, tempt them further to sin? It seems to be setting up a stumbling block for them.
The bottom line though is that although it is good to promote a Biblical sexuality, which not only points out sexual sin but affirms the goodness in sex, and doesn't treat it as a taboo like the church has so often done, going to the other extreme is not good either. This pastor should stick to preaching about Jesus and what he's done for us and the world, and how he calls us to follow him.
Lutheran Astronomer
I have went to Pastor Ed's blog and read many comments to his post on this sermon and hear are just a sample of his comments found @ www.edyoungblog.com
Very evident that this sermon is going to be and has already been affective before even presented.
Ed,
I am so thankful to be a part of Fellowship Church. Many people including the media are taking this message out of context. I encourage everyone to listen to the series and messages, because they are life changing. So many of us are tempted on a day to day basis with lust.
After all, God designed sex. If we can't talk about sex in church, then where should we talk about it??
Since finding FC in 1998 when I was single and finally becoming a member with my husband of five years in 2004, I'm telling you that this church and your teachings have changed mine and my husband's lives. I was on the beaten path and now I am free.
Thanks again Ed for your messages. I encourage EVERYONE to listen whether it be in person or a TV broadcast, website or podcast.
Thanks Ed,
Posted by: Kelly Beck | November 14, 2008 at 08:20 AM
Thank you! I'm single and waiting (just so you know). Chills shot through my body when my mother told me about you on the news. Immediately I looked you up on the internet. You were quoted in an article saying, "I think our culture, sadly, has taken sex out of context, and we want to put it back in context". Tears came to my eyes and my spirit got excited. My spirit agrees with what your saying and its confirmation to what the Holy Spirit has been dealing with me about. I believe the Lord is going to use me to restore love, sex and marriage to its Kingdom concept. Until now, I didn't know the Lord was dealing with anyone else about this.
I was blown away by this making national news. Sex and marriage obviously are "not" being discussed as they should. If they were, you wouldn't be on the news for this.
Please, be encouraged and continue to preach exactly what the Spirit gives you; even the things that are taboo that neither the church nor the world want to hear. I don't know when, but I'll be helping you bring this back to the Kingdom in my part of the country.
God Bless You!
Posted by: Anntronett | November 13, 2008 at 07:17 PM
My husband & I are baptists from SC; we saw the pastor's interview on the Early Show. We'v been married almost 4 yrs-we married late in life, are both in recovery, and love the Lord. We owe our lives to Him and want to live for and serve Him. When we saw the challenge, we looked at each other and smiled. We are both dealing with physical ailments but we plan to participate. I agree, many pastors do not talk about shhh...sex.. in nor out of the pulpit. My husband & I love to read Song of Songs: it's our way of lovemaking without taking our clothes off; we share with each other the obvious love God has for us because he created such a beautiful act for a husband & wife to share; and we do have those physical ailments! But we will pray to our God for His strength in continuing to build up our relationship with Him & each other, and go forward with much excitement!
Posted by: lallie | November 13, 2008 at 07:16 PM
A friend of mine sent me this link this morning and I wrote back and said, "Seven days? I laugh in the face of seven days!" You see my husband and I picked up a copy of "Just Do It!" the story of the couple who made love for 101 straight days and we have taken the challenge. We are on Day 56!
We are 43 (husband) and 41. We own three businesses, we are active in our church and the community and we have five children who do extra-curricular activities. But we find the time, every day, to make love. It has cemented an already-strong marriage. The beauty of it is there are no excuses, no "I'm too tired" lines, and no rejections.
I told my pastor's wife about our decision and she was excited to hear about it. Personally I think every married couple should go on an adventure like this, whether 7 days, or 70 or 700!
Good on Pastor Ed Young for talking about this in the church - for too long we've been embarrassed to talk about sex, and the devil has had a field day - time for the Christians to take back what belongs to us!
Posted by: Cori Smelker | November 13, 2008 at 11:56 AM
It may make people feel good about themselves, and about their relationships (which of course is a good thing!) but it's not clear to me at all what is so specifically Christian about that. Isn't this just advice that works for everyone? If this same advice came from Dr. Phil, would it be any different?
This is the problem with so much "Christian" preaching.. if you put it in the mouth of a Jewish rabbi or a Muslim cleric, or even some self-help guy on TV, it would make just as much sense because it's vague-talk about God and being good and there's no Jesus in it. It may be good advice, but his job is not about giving good advice.
This guy is a preacher... his job is to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I guess my only response to all you who don't think this represents a good presentation is a challenge to tune into his sermon Sunday morning!
Blake... if you ever get some time... you should have a listen to this discussion on the matter.
http://www.issuesetc.org/podcast/Show99111308H2S2.mp3
Blessings!
it's been seven days. Did it work?
Hey I never said I was going to try it!!!!
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