Pastor Jentezen Franklin delivered an emotional and deeply personal eulogy for Joni Lamb, honoring her faith, perseverance and unwavering commitment to the gospel while challenging believers to endure criticism and remain faithful to God’s calling.
Speaking to family members, ministry leaders and Daystar viewers around the world, Franklin reflected on his decades-long friendship with Joni and her late husband, Marcus Lamb, saying he recognized God’s hand on their lives long before the ministry became internationally known.
“There was something on Marcus and something on Joni that was miraculous and very evident that God had his hand on their life,” Franklin said.
Using Mark 14 and the story of the woman with the alabaster box as the foundation for his message, Franklin compared Joni’s life to the woman Jesus said would be remembered wherever the gospel is preached.
“Jesus said this woman lived a life that was worth remembering,” Franklin said. “Wherever the gospel is preached all over the whole world, I want her to be remembered.”
Franklin repeatedly returned to one statement from the passage.
“She did what she could,” he said. “God does not require you to do something you’re not capable of doing. God does not expect you to do something that you can’t do.”
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He said Joni understood she did not need to imitate anyone else to fulfill God’s assignment on her life.
“She didn’t have to be somebody else, she didn’t have to do it like somebody else, she didn’t have to look like somebody else, she could be who she was, and God would use Joni in a magnificent way to reach the whole wide world.”
Franklin also recounted the humble beginnings of Daystar, describing the early days of ministry with “two cameras and a little throw-up set.”
“They did not have, and that’s what it was, a throw-up set,” he said with a smile. “But God knew what He had put in this woman right here, and she had such tenacity that she would not quit.”
He described Joni as both compassionate and fiercely determined.
“Joni Lamb was a velvet brick,” Franklin said. “She was the kindest, the sweetest, the lovingest person, and loyalist friend a human being could have, but boy, if you wanted a fight, she was a fighter too, and especially if it was for the gospel of Jesus Christ going out and changing lives.”
A major focus of Franklin’s message centered on the criticism Joni endured throughout her ministry. He warned believers that anyone pursuing God’s calling will inevitably face opposition.
He passionately defended ministers who dedicate their lives to preaching the gospel.
“You didn’t call us, we didn’t call ourselves,” Franklin said. “God called us.”
Franklin urged Christians not to allow fear or public criticism to stop them from fulfilling their God-given purpose.
“One of the things you have to overcome to fulfill the call of God on your own ministry in life is pure fear,” he said. “What people will say about you, how people will criticize you.”
Despite the hardships, Franklin encouraged believers to keep moving forward in faith.
“If you’re going through hell, don’t stop there,” he declared. “Just keep on going, because there’s a victory up ahead.”
Franklin then turned to one of the central themes of his message: brokenness. Referring again to the alabaster box in Mark 14, he said true ministry often flows from deep pain and surrender.
“She broke it open. It was brokenness,” Franklin said. “It was not until brokenness hit that ministry of that woman could she really pour the oil.”
He added, “If God is going to use you greatly, He will break you badly.”
Franklin shared an illustration about scars, saying wounds do not have to define a believer’s future.
“Scars can’t grow. People grow,” he said. “That little scar just stays down there ankle deep. It doesn’t have to destroy your family, it doesn’t have to destroy your marriage, it doesn’t have to destroy your life.”
He declared that out of brokenness comes spiritual anointing.
“Out of the brokenness comes the oil that anoints the body of Christ,” Franklin said.
Near the conclusion of the eulogy, Franklin spoke directly to Joni’s children and family members, encouraging them in their calling and faith.
“We love you because we see Jesus in you, we see calling in you, we see anointing in you,” he said.
Franklin also expressed confidence in the future of Daystar, declaring, “Daystar will be more anointed than it’s ever been.”
Ending with a call to salvation and healing, Franklin reminded listeners of Joni’s heart for hurting people.
“Joanie loved people who were broken, who had been broken, who had been hurt,” he said. “She was a lover of broken people.”
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a journalism background from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and at the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
