'Sexperiment:' Ed Young Suffers Eye Injury; Leaves Before 24 Hours Over
Ed Young, founding pastor of Texas-based Fellowship Church, suffered a minor eye injury from exposure to the sun during the 24-hour bed-in with his wife, Lisa, on the church’s roof to discuss truths about sex before a live Internet audience.
Dressed warmly, Ed and Lisa Young remained under a white comforter in bed on the roof of their Grapevine megachurch, conducting bedside interviews, talking via Skype with pastors and friends about sex in marriage from God’s perspective. But the eye injury forced the couple to take a break toward the last few hours, ahead of their scheduled 6 a.m. CST ending time on Saturday.
The live streaming of the 24-hour bed-in carried on, however, with volunteers taking over in the absence of the pastor couple.
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The Youngs spoke to friends and pastors, including Mac and Julie Richard from Lake Hills Church in Austin, Texas; Steven Furtick, pastor of Elevation Church in Charlotte, N.C.; singer and songwriter Israel Houghton; Carl and Laura Lentz from Hillsong New York City; and Mathew and Caroline Barnett from the Dream Center in Los Angeles, Calif.
The bed-in was aimed at encouraging married couples to see firsthand the power of a healthy sex life as prescribed in their new book, Sexperiment: 7 Days to Lasting Intimacy With Your Spouse.
The couple stressed that sex in marriage is not for procreation only. God created it also for recreation. They also encouraged single men and women not to experiment with sex until they are married.
But sex in marriage is pure and godly. “God thought it (sex) up, He likes it… He’s pro-sex… sex begins in heaven, and once we understand that, we discover our destiny in relationships,” Ed Young said.
The Youngs said the enemy has hijacked sex and Christians needed to reclaim it. The church, they said, should take the lead in teaching the world about the purity and purpose of sex.
Pastor Young suggested that the church’s silence on sexuality goes back to the church history. “If you look at the church history, a lot of people, even some of the church historians, messed it up because they kind of carried their own negative sexual baggage into the church, and the church has perpetuated it. The church has been silent about the topic. But God’s not silent about it.” The church should be the second best place to talk about sex after home, he added.
The pastor clarified that married couples can have a great time together despite struggles. “Lisa and I don’t have the perfect marriage and have struggles like anyone else… but we talk about that… I think you can negotiate through those difficult times, and especially when you understand what sex is all about and when you understand the beauty of it” you will have a great marriage, he said.
Singer John Lennon did a bed-in during the Vietnam War in 1969 for world peace, Lisa said, but their bed-in is for “sex peace.”
Ed Young encouraged married couples to have sex for seven straight days, promising that the “amazing results” will last far beyond the week, as the book also states.
“Tragically, culture has kicked the bed out of church and God out of the bed,” said the pastor, who has been married to Lisa for almost 30 years. “It’s time to bring God back in the bed and put the bed back in the church. That’s what this bed-in is all about.”
Sexperiment, the authors say, serves as a catalyst for people to begin a dialogue about sex and a challenge to make sex a priority in the marriage bed so couples will remain united outside the bed. The book focuses readers on biblical teachings, pointing to God’s purpose for sex in marriage – not only personal pleasure, but connection to each other and Him.
National and local radio stations as well as television channels have interviewed the couple in bed.
All the proceeds from the sale of the book will go to Fellowship Church.
Ed Young is known for using out-of-the-ordinary ways to teach his congregation. In February 2011, he literally drove a Rolls-Royce and a Ferrari onto the church stage as part of a sermon illustration to tell the congregation they are a Rolls-Royce as they are made in the image of God.
