Kirk Franklin

“Some of our strongest critics, especially inside the church, said we had turned our backs on traditional gospel music and were just contemporary R&B artists exploiting Christian lyrics for the money. But that's not true.”

“Christian music, gospel music, sometimes you'll fall asleep at church but music wakes you up, the song can speak to you in a way that's puts a fire in you. So if I'm working with a mainstream artist I'm trying to find a bigger purpose.”

“If we were not sinners, Jesus would not have had to come. If he didn't see us as sinners, he could have loved us without dying for us. He died for our sins. So if we're all sinners, that means everybody's in the pot together needing the same love, the same grace and the same forgiveness.”

“Let's let people heal.”

“Some people's healing and transformation may take years, and that does not mean that they're not in deep pursuit, you know?”

“I am just always trying to pay attention to how to communicate things that may not always be the hot topic issues and ways they can be entertaining and engaging. That's what I think has always been my passion, even if it comes to the type of music that I do.”

“If I want to wear a V-neck T-shirt and some jeans with a little sag - not hood sag, then I'm just being me.”

“My heart really is about making sure that the conversation of Jesus Christ is something that can be a relevant conversation regardless of where culture finds itself.”

“Well, I feel that the pursuit of trying to know who God is, and trying to be known by God, can be lost in religion. Because religion, all that it is, is man's attempt to try to put a definition on something that is very hard to define.”

“God is a God of truth, I believe that God's love is the truth.”

“Every human being was wired with the desire for happiness. And we will try different things all in the pursuit of that feeling.”

“Religion, throughout the years, has become a very oppressive thing that doesn't allow people to get to know the God it was created to try to lead them to.”

“I've never wanted to be a liar because truth heals me.”

“Well, one thing that I've learned is that love and fear cannot occupy the same space. So, one of the weapons to defeat fear is love. Learning the power of love and being loved by the creator of love. Being loved by God himself.”

“I'm very cautious to not be too observant, or too consumed with what works and what doesn't work, because I think that's when you fail.”

“It's very hard to grow up in the African American church and for music to not be in your veins. It's just part of the fabric of who we are as people, especially black musicians.”

“I think at people's core, everybody's just looking to be healed inside because we all coming with childhood trauma, especially people of color.”

“I'm very committed to a diet and very committed to exercise.”

“I believe that if the Bible calls anything a sin, it's listed in the same category as you would list pride, as you would list hate, as you would list any other thing.”

“I'm always trying to find innovative ways to be able to keep God famous. For all the properties I'm involved in, that's been my agenda.”