God and Sex in the same article in the New York Times

Okay, I admit it: I wasn’t drawn to this article because I was looking for qualifying Amy Writing Award entries. With a title of “Pastor’s Advice for Better Marriage: More Sex,” it is not surprising that Gretel Kovach’s article topped today's “Most Popular” list on the New York Times website.

Kovach writes:

And on the seventh day, there was no rest for married couples. A week after the Rev. Ed Young challenged husbands and wives among his flock of 20,000 to strengthen their unions through Seven Days of Sex, his advice was — keep it going.

Mr. Young, an author, a television host and the pastor of the evangelical Fellowship Church, issued his call for a week of “congregational copulation” among married couples on Nov. 16, while pacing in front of a large bed. Sometimes he reclined on the paisley coverlet while flipping through a Bible, emphasizing his point that it is time for the church to put God back in the bed.

“Today we’re beginning this sexperiment, seven days of sex,” he said, with his characteristic mix of humor, showmanship and Scripture. “How to move from whining about the economy to whoopee!”
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Kovach’s article is more than provocative; it deals with the real life struggle many marriages face— the lack of intimacy. The mainstream media typically portrays great sex as extra-material and separated from the friendship and shared faith a marriage can and should become. God intended when he designed marriage for our enjoyment (and his glory) and that is the message this article shares with the world.

The feature article in the NYTimes.com “U.S.” section does include scripture (2/3rds of the way down and provided as a reference in support of the story’s protagonists, Rev. Ed Young and his wife), so it does qualify for the Amy Writing Awards.

I have to say its nice to read a pro-Christian news article about sex that is favorable to a pastor. That isn’t always the case.

Thank you, Gretel Kovach, for a sensational article. I hope to see it in the early rounds of the 2008 Amy Writing Awards. Please send in all your qualifying entries, and don’t delay. The postmark deadline is January 31, 2008— just 67 days away.