Gospelrama: Rev. Timothy Wright says 'I'm still here for a reason' - The Baltimore Sun's Karlayne Parker blogs about everything gospel music.

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Photo provided by WLIB RADIO

Three months after a tragic incident that left him paralyzed and took the lives of his wife and grandson, the Rev. Timothy Wright spoke before 3,000 people at a concert hall in New York.

The crowd had to listen attentively to the "Godfather of Gospel" who spoke softly and slowly and vowed, "The next time you see me, I'm gonna be walking. God bless you."

Some in the crowd cried and wiped away tears as the minister made his declaration during the Circle of Sisters Expo sponsored by WLIB radio in New York.

After speaking, Wright joined WLIB program director Denise Hill, in a live broadcast of his first radio interview since the accident. You can hear it here.

Wright lost his wife, Betty, and grandson, D.J. Wright, in the July 4 accident in which the family's car was hit by a wrong-way driver, who was also killed. The family was returning to New York after attending a church conference in Detroit.

Read more about the interview below.

Hill: You have always been an inspiration to us through your music and you said God recently gave you a new song. And so, even in whatever state the enemy thinks he may have you in, God's giving you new songs that will not only bless and bring you through but continue to bless others. Tell us about this newest song God gave you.

Wright: Well, I was in the hospital and I was kind of feeling sorry for myself, but then the Spirit spoke to me and said, "I'm still here...for a reason." So, after all is said an done, after all the troubles and trial, after all the tears, I'm still here for a reason.

Hill: I think the latter of that is the part a lot of people leave out. "I'm still here" and they kind of get stuck there. But its for a reason. So you can't just sit on the testimony that I made it through. You have to get through and go forth....

Wright: Absolutely.

Hill: ...and now be productive in the earth. Other than music and the songs God's giving you, what do you see God doing through you in the future?

Wright: Well, I see the Lord showing me how to share with people that no matter what you lose, no matter what you go through, God is always there right by your side. Friends may leave you, loved ones may leave you, but the Lord is always there.

Hill: "Whose on the Lord's Side," "Trouble Don't Last Always"...which one of the older songs that He's birthed through you have been a blessing during this time?

Wright: I know somehow, I know some way, we're gonna make it. That's been taking me through.

Hill: Ah yes, with Myrna Summers. That is a phenomenal song. Your book...Whose Really on the Lord's Side...I'm expecting, through all of this, there will be a volume 2 as well?

Wright: Absolutely.

Hill: Has He given you a title yet?

Wright: I don't know. I don't know just yet.

Hill: Many of us have dates, hours, minutes in our life that we can look back and that was the moment things changed. That was the day life was not the same. That was the time I was in a place of uncertainty and did not know where I was going to go from here. July the 4th was one of those days for you.

Wright: Um hmm.

Hill: DJ was a phenomenal grandson to you, growing, learning...tell us about DJ.

Wright: DJ was my first grandson and he was 14 years old and when we went to Detroit, that was the first time that I allowed him and his parents allowed him to go on the road with me and he was so happy to be with his grand dad. And, ah... that's all I remember.

Hill: And that is enough. You can leave a legacy at any age and that is the legacy he left and that we honor. And your wife, the author of Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, your rock for so many years in business and in the pulpit. For those who were not fortunate enough to know co-Pastor Betty Wright, what legacy do we need to honor concerning her?

Wright: She was somebody special. She was my rock. I could lean on her and depend on her and I didn't lose her...because I know where she is now. I am thankful God is sustaining me through all the trials.

Hill: Talk about some of the people who have been there from the beginning. Bishop Albert Jamison, Hezekiah Walker, Donnie McClurkin...

Wright: Bishop Jamison has been so supportive. He has been right there for me. Pastor Hezekiah and Pastor McClurkin, and all the pastors here and around the country has been so supportive with their prayers and their finances and I am truly grateful. Truly, truly grateful.

Hill: If you had to preach this morning what would you have preached?

Wright: I'm still here for a reason.