Ed Young's fifteen minutes of fame is just about over. What is he famous for? Answer: a 7 Day Sex Challenge (aka seeker-sensitive marketing stunt).
In this interview with CNN, Ed Young gets raked over the coals (as he should be).
Notice the toilet on his church's stage.
Unbelievable. I would hope people would be leaving the church in droves but I am sure they are not. Perhaps they are and we will never know because he just replaces them with the next 1000 people who are bored with their church.....errr.....seekers.....who come through the door.
Ed Young's church is in Houston and it has that many people attending. Are there any regular sized churches left there with all these mega churches attracting tens of thousands with these stupid stunts?
Posted by: Mark | November 15, 2008 at 02:02 PM
Why are his nails painted black? Ewww. Oh, not his nails, him.
Posted by: Jen | November 15, 2008 at 03:43 PM
The video link is not working
Posted by: Walter Stiffler | November 15, 2008 at 04:16 PM
Never mind, I only had the problem in my RSS reader.
Wish the guy would talk about the covenantal aspects of sex and use the publicity to share the gospel and not talk about his "wonderful" idea.
Posted by: Walter Stiffler | November 15, 2008 at 04:24 PM
Wow! Let's go to church to learn how to have great sex!!! What a load of toilet water!!!
Posted by: SueS | November 15, 2008 at 04:29 PM
I don't agree with this guy's methods, or his preaching of self-help over the Gospel, but I gotta say that I don't think that interview lady added much to the umm "conversation".
Frankly, I have a big problem with the idea that having marital relations when you'd honestly rather be folding laundry is something akin being thrown down and raped. This attitude, and I know people who have it, does not do good things for a marriage.
Posted by: Sylvia | November 15, 2008 at 05:21 PM
The reporter Jane did an excellent job here ummm preaching to the pastor?
Two observations:
1. Does he wear nail polish?
2. What is with the phrase the "really true sexual water that God wants us to have"?
Isn't there something in John 4 about the living water God wants us to have?
Posted by: wilson | November 15, 2008 at 09:23 PM
Chris,
Don't try to describe this travesty as "seeker sensitive", thereby implying a tie to Rick Warren. If anything close to this was preached at Saddleback I would get up and walk out.
This is just plain sick, any way you slice it.
Posted by: catransplant48 | November 17, 2008 at 03:14 AM
Cat,
Warren isn't the center of the world. (E.g., he doesn't he define seeker sensitivity.)
Posted by: Tim | November 17, 2008 at 10:28 AM
Tim, that's true. But Chris and many ODM blogmeisters do everything they can to tie all the evils of the world (and all things "seeker-sensitive")to Rick Warren and I wanted to be clear this man's poor choice of a message series has nothing to do with him.
Just a poor choice of words on Chris's part. Clarification is more than justified given the history of Extreme Theology's critiques of Rick Warren.
Posted by: catransplant48 | November 17, 2008 at 04:44 PM
Catransplant,
The real source of the "seeker sensitive" theology is Fuller Seminary. From Fuller, we have Saddleback and Willow Creek. Willow Creek's inability to provide Christians with biblical training is a result of the "drumming down" of Christianity that they have used.
Posted by: Steve Newell | November 17, 2008 at 08:19 PM
I know nothing about Willow Creek but Saddleback certainly doesn't fit into the category of not being able to provide Christians with biblical training. Thus my point stands.
Posted by: catransplant48 | November 17, 2008 at 08:36 PM
I don't really agree with the reporters argument on this one. I don't think he's telling husbands to rape their wives and I don't see how you can stretch it to say that's what's going to happen. You could also say that if a guy rapes his wife he would do it because he wants to just like you could say that if the people at his church would be having sex if they wanted to. I've heard the same argument used against the writings of Paul when I was in college. I think the biblical arguments against these "churches" are they way to go. I'm guessing that the reporter isn't a Christian so she probably wouldn't go that route.
Posted by: Matt B. | November 17, 2008 at 11:27 PM
I once listened to one of Ed Young’s sermons about being a camoflauge Christian and it was pretty good. Then I learned how he is an advocate of the purpose driven church/seeker-friendly model of ministry and I was completely turned off to his ministry.
The sad part is that many of these PDC pastors preach…rather lecture, their audiences with messages that only touch the surface of Scripture. I doubt they ever communicate anything of great substance that would cause their congregation to go back and further dig deeper for themselves.
Go ahead and boast about how large your church is because you’re purpose driven/seeker-friendly, I don’t care. The reason why such a church has so many people in attendance is because the whole counsel of God is not being proclaimed and such sermon titles/series satisfies the people in what they want to hear.
The congregation, in my opinion, is still left without a proper biblical and exegetical understanding of Scripture.
Fox News has a video posted of some members of the church praising what a good idea it was for this subject to be spoken of in church.
Posted by: Kurt Michaelson | November 18, 2008 at 01:10 PM
The Good
I agree with Matt B & Kurt’s comments. The reporter’s argument is a long bow, the guy did not say couples ‘must’ have sex, he ‘suggested’ it. I would also agree with the reporter’s intuitive remark that the Ed Young’s heart ‘is in the right place’. At face value at least, he does seem sincere and well intentioned but…
The Bad
Putting aside the unbiblical justification for this campaign, even from a modern pop psychology viewpoint, it is a very poor therapeutic attempt to fix the ills of shaky marriages. [It begs the question: do they really have that many dysfunctional couples in their church that they need such a public campaign to address it? Is this their top-of-the-list problem?] In any case, it’s trying to fix the symptom without dealing with the root causes. Marriages struggle for all sorts of reasons. I doubt that a wife, who struggles with a lazy husband that never gets off the couch to help around the house, would consider ‘bring sexy back week’ a solution to her marriage.
The Ugly
Once again ‘Christians’ make the news for all the wrong reasons. Another Church trying to play the psychologist and fix people’s problems. If churches become Problem Solving Centers, where do you draw the line? Which problems do you fix the most? It’s a vicious circle. What this shows is the deeper root problem of modern churches that have lost their confidence in the Word of God to do its work in people’s hearts so their lives can change. Instead, they engage in gimmicks that produce notoriety and stimulate the senses (feels good) but do nothing to deal with the depravity of sinful nature.
The Irony
Here are a couple of things I find ironic. By virtue of the fact that this hit mainstream news media, shows that even the secular world finds these things ‘odd’ and can’t understand what they have to do with church. If the world considered them ‘normal’ it wouldn’t be newsworthy by any definition.
Also, the toilet shown on stage in this video is a self fulfilling prophecy for Ed. He does the very same thing he preaches against. Rather than point people to the Word of God and the Lord in prayer to help them deal with their marriages, he urges them to get more active in bed for a week in the hope that this will bring things to the surface and people can start emailing the church with what they discovered. It is clearly a case of Jeremiah 2:13 “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water”. It’s typical megahurch culture that thrives on being ‘edgy’. What’s next? Pole dancing, sans explicit nudity so it is more acceptable for church?
Some Alternative Suggestions for Ed
I doubt Ed will be reading this, but if anyone remotely connected to him is, feel free to pass it on. If the church has legitimately identified several married couples with ‘above average’ marital problems how about this suggestion? [I say ‘above average’ because anyone who’s been married long enough knows that you have your ups and downs, it’s a work in progress. Stepford Wives are only found in Hollywood]
How about having a week of contemplating on the Bible’s instructions for a ‘happy marriage’? Here’s a list for dummies:
As an afterthought, if any of Chris Rosebrough’s fans tells you that this list is being legalistic and you’ll never be able to attain it because your best intentions are stained with sin and you’re confusing law with grace, please make a diary note to remember to ask the Apostle Paul in heaven whether he was really intending these to be applicable in the NT or trying to sneak in Leviticus in disguise.
Now Ed, if none of the above will help these troubled marriages, daily sex even for the next 10 years ain’t gonna cut it either.
Posted by: MR (Megachurch Refugee) | November 18, 2008 at 06:15 PM
"I know nothing about Willow Creek but Saddleback certainly doesn't fit into the category of not being able to provide Christians with biblical training. Thus my point stands.
Saddleback is riddled with Scripture twisting, there is no justifying that. Scripture twisting provides no one with SOUND biblical training. Flee the deceptive Purpose Driven Movement as soon as you can. Maybe when your eyes have been opened?
Posted by: Douglas | November 18, 2008 at 08:04 PM
knew there was a reason Ed Young looks like a dumbass
Posted by: J.P. | November 21, 2008 at 01:02 PM
Plain and simple, it is not Christianity and he is no preacher.
Posted by: Rick Frueh | November 23, 2008 at 11:36 AM
Let me start by saying I’m not an Ed Young fan, don’t follow him one bit and only found out of the sex challenge because of the media attention it has been given. I don’t think the seeker sensitive model is balanced enough to warrant my defense, but the attitudes and posts about this and other issues have stirred me to say something.
The comments on here about Ed Young being a dumb@$$ and Saddleback twisting scriptures and Fuller and Willow Creek are evil etc. Cracks me up. I guess everyone thinks they have all of the bible nailed down with no twisting ever in their theology and understanding of scripture. How could you assume this…because you think you have “church tradition” on your side? Give me a break, if your theology is honest then you should be constantly wrestling with and evaluating all that you hold dear as truth! I believe you guys will all be in for some surprises when we all find out one day the whole truth.
I think Miss Jane doing the interview sounded silly suggesting rape was going to happen as a result of the challenge laid of by Ed Young. Her logic and reasoning are so elementary it really made her look bad in my opinion...and I don't think anyone was raked over the coals here. I do think that Ed Young was challenged as well in the debate to use better language and carefully pronounce his qualifying statements about the sexual relationship...but let's face it, he was looking for press and he got it; plain and simple. Ed Young is a marketing genius if you ask me. I’m not a fan of the two being used in the same sentence (marketing and church) but for those who are not bothered by it, he is one of the best!
Now, I also don't think he delivers this challenge to fix marriages as some on the blog suggest or because everyone in his congregation has some serious problems in their marriage, etc. I'm sure you all have perfect unions with your wives and everyone in your church doesn't need this challenge! I like what he said, that this is not about the law or the act of having sex 7 days in a row, but it's about creating the conversation for couples who don't have sex very often and giving them a platform to talk about what issues they are having that stops them from having sex. Not too mention we are all caught up in the craziness of life sometimes that being too tired or falling asleep happens way too often!!! You are all dishonest with yourselves if you act as if this is not an issue in America today. It is by far the largest reason people are unfaithful in marriages in our society and the culture of sex we live in has ruined many people’s lives in all sorts of ways! So I think the challenge is relevant to the Church, though it may not be a big doctrinal issue that I know burns some of you to the core.
Do I think church could do more doctrine and not just stuff that makes everyone smile every Sunday; absolutely. But could your churches be more in touch with current situations we face as Christians and speak to the needs of a congregation instead of neglecting those needs for the sake of sticking to “doctrine alone”? All Creeds no Deeds is just as bad as Deeds Not Creeds theology.
Jesus taught both, doctrine and understanding of the law, as well as how to live in the world as God intended. The Sermon on the Mount is certainly not loaded with doctrine, but with practical ways of living out life on this Earth the way God intended and as is revealed through scripture!
Peace
Tony
Posted by: Tony Simoncini | November 26, 2008 at 02:52 PM
Again a descent into therapeutic religion and self help trash. Spurgeon once said that the reason we have so little influence in the world is because the world has so much influence in the church. Anyone could get up a say what he is saying - you do not have to be born-again. Just another fool in trendy cloths preaching his own views to ears that prefer humor, diatribe, lightness and unceasing man centeredness.
Now wonder Islam laughs at the church. It is so sad. We have no message worth dying for anymore. The prophets and angels weep in silence as we revel in the silent judgment of God. Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down and purify your bride.
Posted by: Steve | November 26, 2008 at 08:05 PM
Again a descent into therapeutic religion and self help trash. Spurgeon once said that the reason we have so little influence in the world is because the world has so much influence in the church. Anyone could get up a say what he is saying - you do not have to be born-again. Just another fool in trendy cloths preaching his own views to ears that prefer humor, diatribe, lightness and unceasing man centeredness.
Now wonder Islam laughs at the church. It is so sad. We have no message worth dying for anymore. The prophets and angels weep in silence as we revel in the silent judgment of God. Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down and purify your bride.
Posted by: Steve | November 26, 2008 at 08:06 PM
"The comments on here about Ed Young being a dumb@$$ and Saddleback twisting scriptures and Fuller and Willow Creek are evil etc. Cracks me up."
Saddleback, especially Rick Warren himself, twisting/torturing/distorting God's holy Word, the Scriptures, is not only evil it is sinful. It is treachery against God and mankind. I do not trust Rick Warren and his Purpose Driven Movement one iota. I do not see how that can crack you up unless you are not born again and do not fear God in the awesome, glorious, splendor of His holiness? The Bible says that in the last days there will be scoffers and mockers doesn't it? They have no fear of God before their eyes. True?
Here is a small taste of what Rick Warren does:
"In the most popular Christian book, The Purpose Driven Life, you will look long and hard in this book on the purpose driven life to find the gospel. Now I don't know how you could ever live a purpose driven life if you didn't know how to get into the Kingdom of God, or how to be saved. And as I went through the book, this is the gospel presentation, the only one that I found. "First believe, believe God loves you and made you for His purposes. Believe God has chosen you to have a relationship with Jesus who died on the cross for you. Believe that no matter what you've done, God wants to forgive you. Second, receive Jesus into your life as your Lord and Savior. Receive His forgiveness for your sins." Is there anything missing there? What might be missing there? Repentance. "So I invite you to bow your head and quietly whisper the prayer that will change your eternity. Jesus, I believe in You and I receive You." What Jesus? Who did what? Where's the resurrection? It goes on. "If you sincerely meant that prayer, congratulations, welcome to the family of God." How does he know who's in the family of God? No repentance, no judgment, no hell, no heaven, no self-denial, no discussion of sin, no laying down of the Law of God against which the sinner is broken, no sense of guilt, no sense of condemnation, no fear of eternal torment. That is an inadequate gospel. That is a gospel that I will tell you will contribute to apostasy. It will contribute to defection because people are going to come to that which they think is the saving message and when it doesn't do anything, they're gone. A shallow gospel presentation that doesn't present the reality of eternal judgment, the reality of the Law of God, the reality of condemnation, eternal hell, does not warn of God's wrath, that does not crush the sinner under the weight of his violation of the Law of God, that does not make him stand before God guilty.
The gospel presentation that doesn't do that isn't a faithful gospel presentation. And then to tell somebody, "Welcome to the family," as if you knew. This is fantasy. The stronger the gospel message, listen, the harder the gospel message, the more demanding...the more law is incorporated into it, the more guilt is produced by it. The more the sinner trembles, the more conviction, the more fear, the greater the understanding of hell and judgment, the less likely it is to generate a false response. The Jews knew enough about God and they walked away. We want to make sure that when people, if they will walk away, they're walking away from the knowledge of the truth, not some superficial non-saving message that doesn't even mention the resurrection without which you couldn't be saved, because you can't be saved if you don't confess Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God...what?...raised Him from the dead." - Apostates, Be Warned, Pt. 2 Jude 6-7
The Gospel According to Rick Warren
Will the gospel he preached in the Ladies Home Journal mentioned in the above be the same gospel he presents in his magazine deal he has done with Readers Digest? A watered down, Americanized, westernized, self centered, self help, softened, you're precious, love yourself, Christ less, Bloodless, Cross less type of gospel message? Will everyone have to eventually log on to his Programs and pay for it? And if you do not become part of his Purpose Driven programs and sign on to all the covenants he gets people to sign will you be booted out the door and ostracized as it has happened to many already? Anybody that does not jump on board the Purpose Driven ship is branded as being divisive. I think the Purpose Driven Movement is the most deceptive movement to have being imposed upon the Church in all her history. It gobbles up more and more people every day, deceived into thinking they have become Christians, and even on Rick Warren's say so. Incomprehensible.
Go through the Free Purpose Driven discernment tool. Purpose Driven vs. Scripture verse. Easy two column guide for all 40 days.
It clearly shows the Scriptures Rick Warren has twisted, distorted, taken out of context, misused, to build HIS Purpose Driven Movement. I do not see how such a well educated man as Rick Warren has any excuse for his terrible mistreatment of God's Word.
You need to go through the above discernment tool along side Warren's book and a good translation of the Scriptures and study hard to see what Rick Warren has done (and still does), perhaps God will open your eyes? If all that this does for you is "cracks me up" instead of bringing you to tears of godly repentance then maybe God won't. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
2 Timothy 2:15
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
New International Version (NIV)
15Be diligent to (A)present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling (B)the word of truth.
Cross references:
A. Rom 6:13; James 1:12
B. Eph 1:13; James 1:18
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
15Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
King James Version (KJV)
15Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,[a] a worker(A) who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
Footnotes:
a. That is, one approved after being tested
Cross references:
A. Phil 1:20
English Standard Version (ESV)
15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
New King James Version (NKJV)
Further studies on Rick Warren and his Purpose Driven Movement:
Deception in the Church
Posted by: Douglas | November 27, 2008 at 06:12 AM
Douglas,
Thanks for the bible lesson. I went through the tool, and all I see is a comparison of the verses and translations Warren uses in the book, and the NASB on the other side. I guess that is the proper translation and the rest are all worthless? I saw nothing else just the verses.
Either way, I have friends (and they are still friends) who think like you do, and have come off the ledge a bit after going through seminary and realizing a few things. They realized maybe they didn't have ALL the answers and maybe everyone who didn't think like them were not destined for hell. Let me ask you something...you would consider yourself a big Luther and Calvin fan I assume...how much talk do you engage in to make sure everyone knows about the sick and twisted way they viewed the scriptures...on many levels but let's just start with the JEW. Is their anti-semetism (THAT THEY GOT BY TWISTING SCRIPTURE) something you claim as "truth". If you say you do then God bless you BUT let's assume you have a good head on your shoulders and you don't...yet you espouse to their theology on so many other levels assuming your a reformed or Calvinist believer. How can you be sure that they didn't twist any other scriptures. Hitler loved Luther by the way!!!! I'm not someone who believes in the TULIP model of theology, so I guess I twist the scriptures and abuse them, and I'm going to hell...just another heretic right? Let's face it, my critic of the constant whining about twisting scripture has everything to do with a difference of theology. I think Doctrine is important, but unless someone is preaching "another Christ", then I'm not calling them a false teacher.
"perhaps God will open your eyes? If all that this does for you is "cracks me up" instead of bringing you to tears of godly repentance then maybe God won't. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
This statement is sad to me. First off, if your theology is correct and I see things this way, isn't it because God has not opened my eyes, or are implying that I can repent on my own and then God will open my eyes? I'm confused this doesn't sound like regeneration to me! Sounds like "works based" doctrine. I repent, then God forgives! As for the cracks me up part, again I was more moved by the cussing on the blog toward another person whom I consider a Christian and the self righteous attitude of the author behind the statements! And I would consider myself in the hands of God, and fear is the last thing I'm feeling right now. Do I honor the word and desire to "rightly divide" it, you bet...but am I fearful that if I get something wrong I'm in danger of His wrath...nope! I feel sorry for anyone who thinks being in God's hands is a fearful experience.
Again let me be clear, I'm not a purpose driven guy, or a fan of Ed Young...I prefer for doctrine and word along with practical theology, it's the tones I get from you and others here that concern me as much or more than the stuff your bashing!
Peace
Tony
Posted by: Tony Simoncini | November 27, 2008 at 06:31 PM
Chris,
I think the woman conducting the interview misinterpreted a great deal and didn't conduct a very good interview. That said: I agree 100% that this guy's 'challenge' is one of the most ludicrous things I have ever heard of in my life. I have received mostly negative reactions from my own 'open letter to pastor young' at my own blog. People have failed to see how this is major failure on the part of pastor Young and, in my opinion, a major abuse of his 'pulpit' authority. I think we agree on this matter. He sounds absolutely ridiculous in the interview trying to justify his pov. Thanks.
jerry
Posted by: Jerry | November 29, 2008 at 05:22 PM
Did anyone see the follow up interview of Ed Young on CNN. He is pushing a 7 day challenge and he didn't even make it himself, he only made 6 out of 7 days before being too tired to continue.
Posted by: Paul | November 30, 2008 at 01:04 AM
It seems to me the interviewer failed to listen to Ed's complete sermon before launching her attack on him. That's one reason I hate and pay little attention to TV interviews or news stories, whether left, right, conservative, liberal, etc. They mistate and misrepresent things more often than not, and so they misinform and miseducate the viewing public.
OTOH, I think Young overstates the importance of sex, and wrongly thinks or implies that sex every day for seven days straight will somehow put more zing, or lasting zing, in most of his parishioners' marriages.
Posted by: Tim I | January 11, 2009 at 11:13 AM