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| Pastor Ed Young and wife Lisa spend 24 hours in bed atop of their large Evangelical church to challenge couples to have more sex. |
This past Valentine's Day, Pastor Ed Young and his wife Lisa spent a full 24 hours together in their bed, which was hoisted onto the roof of their Evangelical church building in Grapevine, Texas, according to an ABC News article. The purpose of this demonstration was to challenge married Christian heterosexual couples to shed their prudish inhibitions and enjoy having sex every day for one week. According to the Youngs, many Christians are uneasy about sex and are not allowing themselves to enjoy what God has openly supported and encouraged. They even describe God as "pro-sex," and offer portions of Scripture discussing sex and sexuality in a very positive light, such as Song of Solomon 4:16 which is often interpreted as describing the act of oral sex: "Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits" (KJV). Pastor Mark Driscoll and his wife Grace from Seattle also offer insight into what Scripture says about topics such as sexual entitlement, pornography, lust, oral and anal sex, and masturbation.
A primary goal of Christian counseling is to help clients achieve mental health and wellness in every area of life including sexuality. As the article mentions, the issue facing many Christians is that they want to enjoy more frequent and satisfying sex but become hindered by inhibitions that are not Scripturally founded. So how can Christian counselors help these couples reach sexual health and wellness? To do this, one must understand sexuality as God designed. God intended humans to be sexual when He created them as male and female (Gen. 1:27). Attraction, arousal, and the ability to orgasm were hardwired into man and woman by God Himself. Furthermore, God created sex to be both physically and spiritually beneficial. Because humans are both material and immaterial beings, God designed sex to make husband and wife as one. Despite God's positive stance on sex, a long history of poor theology, oppressive sexism, and sexual immorality within the Church have warped the concept of sexuality for many Christians.
Christian married couples need not deny God’s gift of great sex any longer, nor be embarrassed or ashamed. Husbands and wives should feel free to offer themselves fully to each other, enjoy exploring and growing in their sexualities together, and find mutual sexual satisfaction. However, even with knowledge of how God views sex, some couples may still feel bound to their own perceptions of sex. If this is the case or if additional issues such as sexual dysfunction are involved, a Christian sex therapist or Christian marriage and family therapist may be able to help. With a proper Biblical framework, and perhaps the help of a Christian counselor, married couples can finally embrace God's gift of sex without inhibitions!
I found the article about Pastor Young and his wife to be very refreshing. I believe that the church too often avoids the topic of sex. I have witness first-hand how the church treats sex as a four letter word. God created sex to be enjoyed by a husband and wife; only when it is taken out of the context in which God created it for does it become wrong. I am very encouraged to see a Pastor and his wife addressing this problem of sex being thought of as wrong inside marriage. Also that his wife is alongside her Christian husband is wonderful to see. I know that many Christian women are lead to feel that sex is only for the man and it is for the woman’s enjoyment as well. I would also like to see the church address that issue. That God created sex for both men and women to enjoy inside of marriage. I do not believe that a marriage should only be about sex. I do, however feel that if the sexual relationship in a marriage is not healthy, the marriage can suffer. Sex was created to bond a marriage couple together and to express love physical. I am so please to hear about a Pastor who has finally begun to address that sex inside marriage is a wonderful thing.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this. As part of the majority of single students, those who are not married, I can hardly fathom that sex does not happen on a frequent basis in marriage. Additionally to people's views on sex, past experiences such as sexual abuse or currently being too busy and consumed with everyday routines can have a negative impact on married couple's sex lives. At my church here in Lynchburg, the family pastor and his wife hold an annual marriage seminar which addresses many topics, one of them being sex. They discuss ways on how to boost the excitement of sex after years of marriage so that it does not become the same old thing.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post. I think that the article has provoked much thought not only for Christians but those that do not know God as well. I think it is refreshing that people actually are starting to discuss what the Lord says about marriage and sex. The world has severely distorted what sex is and its purpose. Many Christians do not even discuss the issue because of the "Christian stigma" that at times is associated with it. I hope that this is something that the Church will continually discuss and teach what God says about it.
ReplyDeleteThis article is very interesting. I agree that sex has become stigmatized within the Christian community. However, it seems that Liberty and some of the more modern-style churches around Lynchburg are working to break that stigma. This is a good thing because there are many young, Christian virgins who get to their wedding night and are scared to death. In addition, many Christian couples are afraid to talk about any sexual problems they may be having. So making the Christian community aware of God's "pro-sex" stance is a good thing.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a wonderful post, thank you so much for sharing. I thought Pastor Young's idea was great and I truly appreciated how bold he and his wife were in using an exciting and interesting platform to share the world of God with other couples. It is often very taboo to talk about sex within the walls of the church, but sex was created by God and can be glorifying to him! What a blessing!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post! It is such a shame that you cannot turn on the television any more without shows or even commercials giving a wrong portrait of what sex really is. I feel that as Christians we combat this by running away from these things, rather than teaching what is right and true. I can really appreciate the fact that that the Pastor is willing to break the mold and show first hand that it can be a great thing when performed in the right ways. Great post!
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