Exclusive Interview: Kirk Franklin “There Is A Blueprint And I Went Against It.”
The Blueprint is a transparent approach to talking about issues— from marriage to politics to sex and religion—and it’s from my perspective. Not from a Princeton, mainline, protestant, evangelical or liberal viewpoint, but from a 2009 Christian moderate with swag.” – Kirk Franklin
Kirk took a few minutes out of his busy schedule to provide Elev8 with an exclusive interview regarding his new book “The Blue Print”
OW: Why did you decide now was the time to write a book?
Kirk: “It wasn’t an idea of my own. People in the audience wanted a book at the conference I was speaking at. People would ask for a book. It was time to do one a book. People kept asking for a book in the audiences. My team began saying that it’s time to start the book. The process started and here we are now.
OW: In your book you speak about embracing the Non Sexy You wrote “We never want the lows and only want the highs. How do we deal with that?”
Kirk: “That was just a way to define the blahs. To define the things that is not prime time news. It helps dealing with those everyday things. Those are really divinely ordered things. You don’t go running to those things. There was never a time where you say you are going to just love this. When you see them try to strive to look at them through a Divine lense. To know there is a deeper purpose for them. Recognize that there is a deeper plan for this. plan .See this as an opportunity for character growth. This is an opportunity to practice not being selfish. This is an opportunity to practice sacrifice. We have them all around them we just never get a chance to connect them to a Divine lens. If we took that opportunity to see things to see things in a Divine Plan.”
OW: As a father and a husband what do we tell do we tell our young men and women who are colored by the facets of reality television and are colored by our current world’s thinking?
Kirk: “That is the question of the new Millennium. It is the ability to walk into a room of cigarette smokers and be able to leave out not smelling like cigarettes. I think that will forever be the battle. I don’t think there are couple of just a three steps program. It is ongoing lessons of successes and mistakes and lessons learns. Trying to really glean from other lives and try to learn from them. To be well aware of what it is before we walk into it. It all has to do with mentoring. Older men who share their stories and invest in our young men.”
OW: What is the advice to young married people and relationships?
Kirk: “Premarital counseling or the lessons I learned before I got married. Those things didn’t equip me to be the best husband that I could be. . There were still some experiences that I carried from my old life that I carried into my relationship. I was not taught enough to know that the altar where you get married is not magic. Something doesn’t happen magically when you put the ring on. The problem is that most couples that are about to get married that everything is such a fantasy. It’s a fairytale movie. You think that it’s going to change everything. That day has no power. Two years, three years later it doesn’t change anything. That day has no power to reprogram the mind .That was very disappointing for me. I was really thinking and hoping that this would do some magic and when it didn’t do that I realized I still had the old scars. What transforms us is the changing of our thinking.”
OW: Throughout the entire book you stress honesty. There was a strange backlash from within the African American community. How did you deal with the strange backlash from your telling the truth?
Kirk: “We are a prideful people. It taught me in respective that as a society we are more comfortable watching people fall than we are of people testifying about their failings. Watching them fall we can participate as spectators, when they confess that they fall we can see that we are participators.”
OW: How do we educate our young men and women about sex and marriage?
Kirk: “I think it’s unfair sometimes that we expect something from them that they are not equipped for. It is the responsibility of our council, elders, and pastors in their walk to guide them. We need to make sure that we are not putting those people in the way of life that they are not prepared for. We need to teach them about the high cost of sex. We need to tell them about the high cost of sex. We need explain the consequences that you can’t put a condom on our heart; you can’t put a condom on your soul. “
OW: Do you feel that we have lost ourselves in quick blips of texting, tweeting and face booking?
Kirk: “Have we lost character building opportunities? There are times I see things. Teenage boys coming out the store and they don’t hold the door open for wife. They may bump into her they don’t apologize. There have been times when I’ve seen a guy coming out of the store and he doesn’t even hold the door. When did we lose that? What is that about? When you have character it’s very difficult to be the CEO of a company and you have people that are being laid off and they have no jobs and you take money and re do your office. You will have people standing on unemployment lines and you take money and redo your your carpet. That is a disconnect.”
OW: What were the differences between writing the book and writing a song?
Kirk: “It was mainly intellectual. It was disciplined. One thought has to be a whole. In music you have more emotions. I had to discipline myself. One thought can be a whole chapter.”
OW: What was the most difficult part to revisit?
Kirk: “There were several things whether it was the parents and the parenting. Some of the illustrations I had to use. Dealing with the abandonment issues. Those things are kind of painful. At the same it is also healing to keep getting it out to talk about. I am a work in progress.”
OW: What would you tell a young man who has no support system?
Kirk: “Your spiritual relationship with the Lord is do or die. It cannot be an option. God the Father, God the son are waiting to have an intimate relationship with you. It’s not just about when you are in trouble. It does the father’s heart so much joy. It’s not a call when you are trouble or you need some money.”
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O where can a good man find a virtuous women? My delight is not in passionate words or beauty that evaporate but that of attaining a christain wife to live in fellowship with our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.
As it is written, charms can be deceitful and beauty passes away but the women who fear the Lord is worthy to be praised.
O where can a good man find a virtuous women ? the treasure of her love lay not in charming words or beauty that evaporate but in the love of God she have in her heart. There no greater love more pleasing to my soul.
O where can a good man find a virtuous women ? Her love is more precious then rubies and gold or fortune untold its pleasing to my soul.
I have been to the greatest cities and even the smallest towns can someone please tell me where she can be found.
By.
Ronnie Wildee.
We’re giving away an Autographed Copy of Kirk Franklin’s “The Blueprint”! Check it out! http://bit.ly/aheWXc
Haven’t read it yet, I see a few people still upset about The Family and GP. From my own experience, the song writer gets the money, ubnless the contract says otherwise. Did Kirk sign a contract with the members? If he did, he needs to honor it, so as to remove stumbling blocks. If he didn’t, then their beef is with the label. Gospel music has always existed on a tightrope. On the one hand, it’s ministry, and you’re supposed to do it, and receive it, as such, but on the other hand, it costs at least as much to produce a Gospel album as it does a secular one, and how do you handle that?
If he wrote about that, I hope he fixes it so that no one can hold that over him anymore.
People stay hating on Kirk….Why? This man wants to spread his wisdom, why hate on him? God’s Property? The LABEL was supposed to pay them and they didn’t, you really think Kirk has enough money to pay all of them? It honestly hurt me that they didn’t get paid, but what can he do?
Hmmm,
wish him success…however, the only blueprint is the word of God. Not sure I’m feeling the title. Seems like he was taking a page from Jay-Z
People, People, People. He is a man of god preaching gods word in a book, even though common sense would tell anybody to just read their doggon bible. But if the lord put it in this mans heart to write a book then so be it. What is the difference between money and knowledge. Both are valuable. Giving information is just as a blessing, as giving money. So why critisize? Why Judge? Let this man have his personal thoughts and life experiences on paper and hopefully whoever reads it will be blessed from it. AMEN!!
@ MrMykelD_Angelo
The difference is other record company people aren’t putting themselves out there as role models and gospel artists supposedly preaching the “word” and then writing a book talking about a plan that other people should follow, while their own example doesn’t live up to the messages he’s trying to preach.
That’s like asking what’s the difference between the clergy that molested kids and a regular pedophile…of course the clergy is going to be held to a higher standard, that’s what happens when you purport to speak “God’s” word, you have to live up to it.
what’s wrong
hi now?
I just want to know how kirk feels about the free masons and some of their activities with the illuminati oath and the baphomet
I think God has a purpose for Kirk and everyone. It’s not to be a celebrities, but find a way to bring people toward him without being of the world. The way he bring people and kids to God or himself. That’s between him and Jesus. Let thy will be done. Not our will but his world. According to God.
People always like celebrities, but I think those in uniform deserve more respect. They defend our country and safeguard our policy. Join S e e kuniform c /o/ m, show your love and respect to our military heroes.
2tone
whats the difference between what Kirk did and what many other record company ppl do???
@ OnlyforHim
Under normal circ**stances I’d agree with you, a man’s debt are between he and those he owes.
However, in the case of a public figure who is preaching this message and profiting off of it then writing a book purporting to give others advice when his own house isn’t in order, that’s totally different. That’s hypocrisy.
Just because someone is wearing camo gear doesn’t mean that person is a soldier…
I do not have a problem with Kirk Franklin. I think he is an awesome, honest man of God. 2tone, I knew nothing about him not paying “God’s Property” or “The Family,” but that’s between God, Kirk, and them–not us. There are three sides to every story–Kirk’s, their’s, and the truth (God’s). Let them handle it. One thing I like about Kirk is that regardless of how popular he has become, he remains humble and continues to tell people about Jesus and His redeeming power. I haven’t read the book, but I enjoyed what he said about not being able to put a condom on a person’s heart or soul. I hope it’s in the book because I would like for the young men in my family to read it. One last comment–which probably should have been my first–someone needs to reread and edit this story. It is poorly written and has too many grammatical errors. One could lose the interview’s qualities in all of the confusion.
What do you all think when God in the Jesus calls a man to fulfill his dream desires, but did not know that’s what he’s going to be doing?
This article was horrible. It had too many typos. I suggest editing and reposting!!
i agree with no extra. the kirk franklin’sof the world think like the man who entered a bank to rob it , and asked god for forgiveness before committing the robbery. it does not work. god is not that forgiving
This is a good article blog foreal.”Kirk Franklin”.
Every one deserves an opperunity to make a living,but prophiting off the word of God.You cant do evil and claim God at the same time.To think that god is that forgiving is to waste the greastest gift he gave to man the ability to think and act with some degree of rational.Kirk is like Sundays Best and Mary Mary. Wearing it on Sunday only.
I like the quote about what the condom can do. It is so true. Nobody realize that until it is too late and they have extra baggage.
“you can’t put a condom on our heart; you can’t put a condom on your soul.”……..HOW AWESOME:) My decree:no sex til marriage!
I wonder if he took some time off from writing about honesty and sacrifice to pay The Family or God’s Property…maybe he wouldn’t have gotten that “strange backlash”.
Uh oh…
Great interview and pre-read for the book, sounds interesting i`m all for learning and seeing what the grass is like on the other side of the fence.
Now I’ve got a witness…gr8 job there, OW!!! Please tell Kirk that we love him in Nigeria and he is such a blessing everytime he comes. We expect his new book here too…
Kirk will always be very used by God because he is not ashamed to use his story to show how much we need God daily…and I believe it’s getting tougher to live for Christ these days but with mentoring the Holy Spirit leading, we shall overcome.
We can still create character-building opportunities with all the texting, tweeting and face-booking if we decide to…the things we do, through God, can become mighty to the pulling down of strongholds! And for the challenge of the millenium…I agree with him. Each individual will have to work out his salvation with fear and trembling but having faith in God that it shall be well…Contact without Contamination is possible…Amen!