Gospel artist Kirk Franklin is an anointed, passionate, energetic entertainer, whose music has ministered to me during various seasons of my life for more than ten years. He is my favorite entertainer because when He creates a musical project, 95% to 100% of the selections are so real and relevant to my Christian experience I can just sit with his music and allow it to wash my soul and massage my spirit over an extended period of time . I enjoy sweet worship, singing and dancing to his music; it moves me and takes me to where I want to be in the spiritual realm of God’s heart.

Kirk Franklin, born on January 26, 1970 in Riverside, TX has been called one of the brightest stars in contemporary gospel music. He is an inspiring, positive and transparent witness of how God will look beyond our faults and see our needs, and then transform our ordinary into greatness to the glory of God. His story is also a wonderful testimony of how it doesn’t matter who our parents are, where we come from, or what we have done when we look to God to fill the empty, painful places in our lives.

Experiencing abandonment by his mother and not having known his father, Kirk Franklin was reared by his religious Aunt Gertrude, who paid for his piano lessons by collecting aluminum cans when he was four. At age 11, Kirk was leading the adult choir, but began rebelling in his teens until one of his friends was accidentally killed. That incident was a wake-up call to the poor choices he had been making and resulted in Kirk’s return to the right path, at which point he began composing songs, recording, and conducting. Kirk Franklin and the Family, his choir comprising friends and associates from his younger days, have been on the music scene since 1993 and their music has repeatedly been on the top charts.

Kirk Franklin’s music makes me smile and experience a range of emotions. His music expresses “The Reason Why I Sing” and accurately captures my “Hero”, Jesus Christ the “Precious Lamb Of God”. Through Kirk’s music, I can “Imagine Me” healed and whole, knowing that “Afterwhile” whatever pain I may endure will pass and I can use my experience to encourage someone else because this too does pass, “The Storm Is Over Now” and yes, there will be a “Brighter Day”.

One of the songs that ministers to me the most is “The Blood Song” because it really doesn’t matter what color Jesus was, as long as His blood was red. The blood that is "strong enough to wash away my sin, pure enough to cleanse me deep within, real enough to find me when I'm lost, great enough to die upon the cross."  What matters is that I am redeemed and reconciled to God the Father by the blood of Jesus Christ, not the color of His skin. For me, it is enough of a blessing and comfort to know that Jesus came, endured and overcame temptation and the cross, sacrificing His life because “He Loves Me” unconditionally.

Abundant blessings,

Jo Anne Meekins