Kirk Franklin dares Westboro Baptist Church to protest at his concerts

Gospel singer Kirk Franklin sent an open invitation to Westboro Baptist Church to protest his concerts after he found out that the church's members were picketing the funerals of Orlando shooting victims.

Addressing the Kansas-based church in a tweet, Franklin said their actions have no godliness in them and sometimes become the reason why people continue to label Christ followers as "hateful" and "judgmental."

"Whoever your pastor is, he is the dumbest, most hateful ignorant man to ever lead ANY church. There is NO form of Godliness in this act ... and a continuing issue of why the world sees us as hateful and judgmental," Franklin tweeted.

A member of Westboro Baptist Church announced last week that church members would protest at the funerals of the victims of the Orlando shooting.

"It's never been OK to be gay and it's never going to be OK to be gay, no matter how much the spirit of the times calls for the popularity of that sin," Steve Drain, the church's spokesman, told USA Today.

However, their protests were blocked by the victims' supporters wearing angel costumes. In the funeral of Christopher Leinonen, hundreds of people stood outside and sang "Amazing Grace" to drown out the voices of protesting Westboro Baptist Church members.

Franklin said that the church's protests are filling the world with "hate and disease." He dared them to respond to his tweets and told them to go to his concerts and stage their protests there.

Ben Phelps of Westboro Baptist Church replied to Franklin in a YouTube video explaining that God sent the shooter to the gay nightclub in Orlando. The tragedy was appointed by God, and He was sending a message to the people, Phelps said.

He gave verses from the Bible to support what he said: Amos 3:6, Micah 6:9 and Luke 13:2-5. He warned that sinners will perish unless they repent.

Franklin challenged them to read the entire Bible and not just take parts of Scripture out of context without taking into account the heart of Jesus.

"Read the entire Bible, and let those parents bury their children," he tweeted.