By: Shawon Canady
In a recent Twitter battle, Kirk Franklin invited the Westboro Baptist Church to protest his concerts. Franklin claims the group’s response in protesting the funerals of those in the Orlando attack was godless.
“Whoever your pastor is, he is the dumbest, most hateful ignorant man to ever lead ANY church,” Kirk responded in one tweet. He went on to say, “Please show up to one of my concerts protesting, PLEASE! We love Jesus, but…Just pleas come. This is a sad day for the faith I love. …Read the ENTIRE Bible, and let those parents bury their children. #WackChurch.”
The Westboro Baptist Church group of protesters has also been widely known for protesting churches that offer counseling for divorced individuals, as well as the funerals of American soldiers.
The group responded to Kirk through a YouTube video, saying that God sent the shooter to the gay club.
If you continue reading any of Kirk’s tweets, you can easily see his frustration goes beyond this issue. Since Kirk released his album, Losing My Religion, his deep-seated issues with the church have progressively escalated. Though he does not claim to have lost his faith in God, it is clear that there has been a tearing away from traditional religious rudiments.
Though Kirk has received some praise for his stance on this sensitive and controversial topic, he has also received a lot of flack. In one perspective, no matter the sinful nature of homosexuality, the purpose of a funeral is to morn the loss of a loved one. This was the essence of Kirk’s argument, but some believed he responded too vicariously, though he did not believe it was God who sent the shooter, as the protest group stated.
This is a tough topic because at the end of the day, homosexuality is utterly wrong, and yes it is just as utterly wrong as any other sin (i.e. lying, stealing). I think the issue at hand here extends beyond this situation and has been rooted for many years dealing with the Body of Christ’s response to sin.
I believe we see so much compromise in Christian music, Christian lifestyle, and Christian everything in an effort to not appear to be judgmental, which seems to be a big concern for Kirk as well.
At the end of the day, we as a body of believers have to learn how to identify sin, be blunt about it, and show that Christ can deliver anyone. The love of God is not proven when we do not step on anyone’s toes, I think Jesus proved that when He turned over the tables (Matthew 21:12).
Tell me what you think, from Kirk’s response, to the Westboro response, and how we should respond to the shooting as believers. Of course, sin is sin, but in this situation, really, WWJD?
I really think that how Kirk feels about the church is taken in fleshly rather than laying it down in intercession. He is obviously upset at how Believers are acting and responding which can be true. But what are you doing about it? Are you sincerely praying and asking for wisdom on how to deal with it or pray on belief of the people and their minds? When we react in the flesh our response will be fleshly.
I don’t think that Kirk’s reply could possibly make the situation any better as he has responded out of anger and offense. However, his response was delivered in a way to bring offense as well. Therefore, it will create chaos rather than any type of solution.
For me this is very interesting because on one hand Im reminded of scriptures in Nehemiah and Exodus and in The Gospels where the bible speaks of man’s impending destruction at the hands of a “Great and Terrible God” and after reading those I can see where it would not be far fetched far God to have sent the shooter there. I also think about scriptures and personal situations where God has showed me and His people mercy in order to give another opportunity for Redemption. But as far as the response from the church I think we should be there for people as a standard of hope and righteousness showing them that I was also once “in sin” and broken down by calamity in my life but through the redemptive power of God I’ve been freed and made whole.
I agree Delvin. We do really have to be there for people in times like that to show that God is still a redeemer.