Kirk Franklin Brings Oklahoma Crowd to Its Feet at Fight of Your Life Health Tour

In the days leading up to Kirk Franklin's "Fight of Your Life Health Tour" last Sunday, I heard that some people expected the Gospel recording artist to perform only three or four songs and give his health message. That prediction was wrong.

From the moment he stepped onto the stage area at Fairview Baptist Church, 1700 NE 7, to the time he made his exit about an hour and a half later, Franklin brought the crowd to its feet with one after another of his hit tunes.

Franklin was a little bit preacher and a little bit music man. That was good, because that's why people seem to love him. About 1,300 people crowded into the Oklahoma City church's sanctuary to hear from the Grammy Award-winning singer, and an additional 450 watched his performance on a big screen set up in the church's fellowship hall.

Franklin's concert was brought to the city in partnership with the American Heart Association's Power to End Stroke campaign. The event was free, but people had to fill out a short questionnaire about stroke to gain admission.

The Power to End Stroke campaign is designed to educate and help prevent stroke in the black community. According to the heart association, blacks have almost twice the risk of first-ever strokes than whites, and blacks have higher death rates for stroke as compared to whites.

Franklin spoke to the crowd about the issue.

"We as a people, we are dying. Too many of our leaders -- the matriarchs and the patriarchs of our homes -- are dying because we are not taking care of our temples," Franklin said. "I need for you to be around. You are too important to me and to your community."

Then the singer walked the crowd through the Power to End Stroke pledge, asking them to commit to leading healthier lifestyles.

By the time he shared the health message, Franklin already had captured the audience's full attention. He and his talented ensemble started out with the uptempo anthems "Brighter Day" and "Lovely Day." He remarked that it had been a while since he had done a concert in a church, and he was excited about it.

Franklin drew screams from the crowd when he went on to perform a medley of some of his first hits, including "Melodies From Heaven" and "Something About the Name Jesus."

He gave an inspirational talk about letting go of hurts, bitterness and hang-ups during a performance of crowd favorite "Imagine Me." He ended with a string of several upbeat songs inclusing "Revolution" and "Stomp" that helped end the evening on a high note.