The Steam Tunnel Pilot

Ed Young to Hold Fashion Show on Church Roof

by Jude Phakiki Roosevelt

The Texas pastor known variously as a sex therapist, rap artist, deep-sea rescuer, aviation industry booster—almost anything but a preacher of the Gospel—has jumped head-long into his next venture: helping his fellow clergymen look sharp.





The same rooftop that gave us Sexperiment will
play host to Pastorista 2012, a fashion show for
preachers, April 7 in Grapevine, Texas. 

 “Pastors aren’t typically known for their fashion. Most people don’t think of the runway leading up to the pulpit. But why not?!” asks Pastor Ed Young, Jr. “Why can’t the men and women of God set the standard for the rest of the world in fashion as well as faith? That’s why we’re launching PastorFashion.com. We want to set the trends.” To promote awareness of his new web site, http://pastorfashion.com/,

“I'm not a rabbi and I don't play one on TV.”

Mizrahi was originally hired to help Ed Young

convert from "rapper" to "wrapper."

 the 50-year-old “doulos to fashion” has announced a special fashion show to be held Easter Saturday, April 7, on the roof of Fellowship Church, Young’s mega-congregation in Grapevine, Texas, a suburb of Dallas.

“Pastorista 2012” will feature guest appearances by fellow pastors Steven Furtick, Mark Driscoll, Bishop/King Eddie Long, and George Zimmer, the guy from the Men’s Warehouse. Fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi will be there to lend his expertise and critical commentary to Young and his ad hoc flock of splendidly sartorial Shepherds.  The professional fashionista’s participation was almost not to be, however; in fact, it was the result of a serious fact-checking error, one with potentially disasterous inter-faith implications.  It seems a Fellowship staff member had erroneously reported to Pastor Young that Mizrahi was, in fact, a messianic rabbi. As such, the 50-year-old fashion icon was originally recruited in order to administer the Hollywood Secret Body Wrap to the Texas preacher and to declare him “anti-Oxidant to the Nations.”  Once the misunderstanding was resolved, however, Mizrahi was more than happy to remain on the project in a capacity better suited to his actual professional background.






Workers complete the new retract-
able roof atop Fellowship Church.

 Concern over the choice of locations for the event almost resulted in its cancellation.  It was on this same structure that Young and his wife Lisa planted themselves for 24 consecutive hours this past January 13-14 as part of a promotion for Young’s book Sexperiment.  In bed—yet fully clothed—for almost the entire time, Young’s exposure to the elements resulted in damage to his retina.  However, that won’t stop Pastorista 2012 from going forward.

From Milan to Grapevine.  “Why should the devil

have all the great catwalks?” asks Young.

   “We’ve got it covered—so to speak.  At least we will.”

Engineers from Walter P. Moore, Inc., the Houston-based structural engineering firm that built the retractable roof atop Cowboys’ Stadium, are working around the clock to put a similar structure on top of Fellowship’s regular roof.   That way, rain-or-extreme-shine, the fashion show will go on and there will be no eye injuries.  


Author of the books Creative Leader, Juicy Fruit, and High Definition Living, Young is no stranger to solving spectacular problems in ever more spectacular ways.  Neither is he a stranger to perfectionism or self-deprecating humor. “Putting up the retractable roof will be nothing compared to getting the cat walk just right.”