“I’ve Waited so Long” – Gospel Legend Kirk Franklin Touring Australia

After decades of anticipation, gospel legend Kirk Franklin is finally making his way to Australia on his World Tour this December and he couldn’t be more thrilled.

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“There were a few times over the last 30 years that it looked like [this tour] was going to happen and then it didn’t,” Kirk told Hope 103.2.

“I just got down and discouraged.

“And so, when I found out that this one was possibly happening, I didn’t want to get excited yet. I didn’t want to get my heart broken again.

“Finally, when I found out that it was the real thing I got really, really excited, really grateful because I’ve been wanting to come there for almost half a century.”

With 20 Grammy Awards and more than 15 million albums sold, Kirk’s passion for music remains as strong as ever.

With 20 Grammy Awards and more than 15 million albums sold, Kirk’s passion for music remains as strong as ever.

“The goal is to continue to do what I’m doing,” Kirk said.

“I love it too much. I feel more free and alive in those moments more than anything else.

 “I started playing when I was four. The only thing more to do is to keep telling people the message and give people the good news of Jesus Christ.”

When Kirk talks about his Christian faith, it’s one that doesn’t shy away from the struggles he’s lived through.

When Kirk talks about his Christian faith, it’s one that doesn’t shy away from the struggles he’s lived through.

In 2023 Kirk released his Fathers Day album and documentary, going into being abandoned as a child, his estranged relationship to his mother and eldest son and, later, unexpectedly learning who his biological father was.

“I heal as I reveal,” Kirk said.

 “Life and artistry are very synonymous. If I experience it, I write about it, I talk about it.

“And as a Christian, it’s also part of my healing – finding how to see God in the messiness.”

Kirk has long said he’s wary of a “pretty Christianity” that avoids the harder truths of faith.

“I’m more comfortable in the truth than I am the pretty picture,” Kirk said.

“It gets dirty before it gets better.

“Sometimes it can be dirty the whole route of that journey for some people.”

Recently, Kirk’s created a space for hard conversations beyond music, with his YouTube series Den of Kings. It features men of varied faith backgrounds – including actor Tyrese Gibson (Fast & Furious) and producer Tyler Perry (Beauty in Black) – talking about everything from vulnerability in leadership to hook-up culture and racial stereotypes.

“I am speechless at the reception of Den of Kings,” Kirk said.

“People don’t often see men of colour communicate in these spaces.

“And I am honoured to facilitate that – to see healthy, transparent conversations among black men, who are so often stereotyped into one box.”

Kirk Franklin will be performing at Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane on December 18.

For Kirk, these dialogues show the breadth of thought, belief, and experience among men who may be conservative or liberal, agnostic or believers.

“We still matter,” Kirk said.

“We still have a place in the earth where our voices and our unity can really make a difference.”

Asked how Christians can better engage in complicated conversations, Kirk urges them to “get out of your Christian comfortable Bible study class where everybody thinks like you and everyone looks like you”.

Listen to Laura’s conversation with Kirk Franklin in the player above.

“If you don’t do that, you cannot be Christ in the culture,” Kirk said.

“There must be a level of being uncomfortable if we’re going to make change on the globe.”

Kirk Franklin will be performing at Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane on December 18.

Listen to Laura’s conversation with Kirk Franklin in the player above.

Feature image: Supplied (Live Nation)