Did Kirk Franklin Really Try to Kill His Own Son?

No! He Couldn’t have…why is this even a thing? Over the weekend, a story surfaced alleging that Kirk Franklin tried to kill his oldest son Kerrion. The story was generated by a startling post Kerrion made about his dad while in Los Angeles and has since been picked up by Black Christian News, Ebony Magazine and passed around online by other news outlets. Why Kirk Franklin would be trying to kill his own son is beyond me; however, his son seems to think so and made it public in a now deleted post.

Kirk Franklin is a very proud dad of his children with his wife Tammi and gushes over them on and off social media. I used to regularly see Kerrion’s posts when we were friends on Facebook, and he almost always presented Kirk in a negative light. I don’t follow his new profile or Instagram account which was the platform of the latest, outlandish bombshell, so forgive me for not being able to provide much more detail. What I did notice on Facebook for a number of years was the simmering angst brewing against his dad. For what reason remained unknown to me and I didn’t want to pry because in reality, I’d never personally met the him.

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How did they arrive at this impasse? Early on, Kirk made mention of his son in his recordings-one of the first to ever shout out everybody in a single song! For all we knew, Kerrion was a part of and the youngest member of “The Family”. Now, he’s estranged from his famous father and infamously grabbing headlines. Further review of Kerrion’s Instagram gave me a little insight as to where he is in life and it’s not on the same page as his father. While Kirk is a “Church Boy” who has for all intents and purposes lost his religion, his son has focused his energies on a different plane and is the antithesis of almost everything his father is known for to the world.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj8EOZ3lUOk/?taken-by=dragonsacrifice

Fathers and sons…
There’s no hurt like a fractured relationship between parents and children. Sadly, it occurs far too often within the black community. Inside the microcosm of the black church, the devastation is much more pronounced, as Kirk Franklin has also bore witness to. The greatest hurt and strongest reaction seems to be from sons. Kerrion is taking the damaged relationship to heart and as a bystander with no knowledge of why the two are estranged, I don’t have an opinion to share.

Instead, what I do want to offer is hope…hope that these two are able to repair their relationship for the sake of the gospel as well as their quality of life. Kirk has survived the ‘fight of his life’, but what about Kerrion who may be encountering the same but doesn’t draw inspiration, but agitation from his father’s worldwide ministry? 

Let me be clear, I like Kirk Franklin. He’s a good dude, in my opinion. Has he made mistakes, of course and many more than we know about (as is the truth for all of us). I just need him to get together with The Family and all will be forgiven (I mean it, too)! For many people, the ongoing saga of father and son has persisted under the radar, but this latest episode has struck a nerve and is being promulgated by Christian and black media. Bolstered by the pervasive social media “gotcha” journalism of today, the story is blown wide open.

Not just a nudge…
In Hebrews 10:24, the Apostle Paul tells us to find ways to provoke one another to good works and I want to do that here. Without knowing the ins and outs of the cause of the estrangement, I believe that it would be advantageous for father and son to quell their beef. In Malachi 4, the prophecy comes forth as the great and terrible day of judgement. As a reprieve, the Lord promises to send them Elijah who will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to their father. While you may argue that this coming day is far off, what is inarguable is the effect of the relationships between fathers and their children. To this end, this restored relationship will spare the earth from being smitten with a curse.

The older I get, I have come to understand fatherhood as part of a spiritual awakening, as detailed in my Father’s Day podcast. There’s some level of drama and trauma concealed within the recesses of every family. Whether its covered or not, we owe ourselves and our families the privilege of healing the hurt, reaching beyond the break and repairing the breach, to the saving of our soul! I do hope and pray that Kirk and Kerrion can heal their relationship.

Though it took many years, Kirk has healed his relationship with David and Tamela Mann, working together on hits like: “Take Me to the King” and her Grammy winning “God Provides”. I still await the day we all see a full reconciliation with The Family. He has shown that he can right his wrongs and grow beyond the missteps of his youth, I anticipate the same with his son! I don’t think Kirk tried to kill him (as stated on Instagram), but they do need to repair that relationship, it’s a black eye on all the positive Kirk does for the Kingdom!

-Fred