The nominees for the 41st annual Dove Awards were announced on Thursday.

Natalie Grant and Bart Millard will host the awards show on April 21st.  Unlike last year, the awards will not be broadcast live– they will air on gmc on Sunday, April 25, 2010 from 8pm-10pm EST.

There are 43 categories and you guys don’t know most of the names in ‘em, so I’m not typing it all… sorry.  BUT, you can visit http://www.gmclife.com/41st-dove-award-nominees for the full list.

In the meantime, a quick recap of some of the folks you’ll find there:

Donnie McClurkin, Israel Houghton, Melinda Watts, Freddy Washington, Brian Courtney Wilson, Mali Music, Vickie Winans, Smokie Norful, Mary Mary, Crystal Aikin, Bishop Paul Morton, Hezekiah Walker, Heather Headley, Mandisa, B. Reith, Fred Hammond, Group 1 Crew, Da’ T.R.U.T.H., BeBe & CeCe Winans… see, there are just too many to name!

Ok, more Dove Awards info and discussion as the time draws nigh.  Until then, tell me what you think about the nominee list!

One of the most highly publicized events of the Stellar Awards weekend was the Bonnerfide Radio Launch Party, the celebratory event hosted by Gerard Bonner for… well, the entire industry.  The party did not disappoint… it was a virtual who’s-who of folks in the industry and just about everyone rolled through at some point to show their love.

In case you don’t know by now, Bonnerfide Radio is a new internet radio station created and hosted by Gerard Bonner (also of GospelFlava.com).  Within months, the interactive radio show/chat room experience was nominated for a 2010 Stellar Award for Internet Radio Station Of The Year, and garnered the support of MAJOR gospel artists, including Fred Hammond, J Moss, John P. Kee, Sheri Jones-Moffett and countless others.

The night, hosted by popular journalist and personality Jawn Murray, boasted performances and appearances from new and established artists including PJ Morton, Jonathan Nelson, Jason Nelson, George Huff, Melinda Watts, Myron Butler, Candy & Peaches West, Algernon, Tre Thomas, Claude Deuce, Sheri Jones-Moffett, Rae Ellis, CMO, Dominique Side, JJ Hairston, Darnell Davis & Remnant, Lisa Page Brooks… I have to stop there cuz I’m losing myself in the evening again.

But just imagine a relaxed (though packed to the RAFTERS) lounge setting at Nashville’s popular venue, Limelight, featuring food and drink, enhanced by ministry/entertainment from some of the most creative and skilled vocalists in our game.  That’s where I was on Friday night!

Wanna make sure I mention this testimony, too– immediately after THIS event, Gerard Bonner was involved in an automobile accident in which his car was totaled.  From what I understand, he was hit by another car, which sent his car head-on into a truck… an 18-wheeler.  Praise God, Gerard and the passengers with him, walked away with only minor bruises– no internal bleeding or complications whatsoever.  When I spoke with him a few hours later, he was resting up to make sure he had enough energy for the rest of the Stellar weekend!

Now, I’m not big on blaming everything on the devil… I think, sometimes, folks just have auto accidents.  But if you were blessed to watch how God has been dropping miracles for Gerard left and right over the past several months, and if you had seen how that evening was a confirmation of so many of Gerard’s dreams and ambitions (based on his calling), and if you had seen the wreckage and how the accident REALLY could’ve turned out another way… you’d probably be rejoicing that the hand of God remains more powerful than any attempt of the enemy, that His plans can never be ruined, that He’s a God of mercy, grace and love… I’m not thrilled about the accident, but I am thrilled that God is consistent in showing His children “I’m here for you… I’ve got plans for you… I’ve got you– physically, financially, emotionally, spiritually…”  Let’s rest in that.

Anyway… it was kind of a once-in-a-lifetime type of deal, cuz how many launch parties can be thrown?!  But maybe, if we’re nice to him, Gerard Bonner will throw the industry another shindig next year…

In the meantime, you can check out his live radio show EVERY weekday morning, from 9am to 12noon ET, at http://www.getbonnerfide.com/.  You’ll immediately see what everyone is raving about…

In the gospel music industry, collaborations are BIG.  You wanna create a crazy buzz about your project before it hits the stores?  Tell folks you’ve got an exciting collabo on it.  You wanna kick up your television performance a notch?  Perform a collabo.

This year was a great year for collaborative work.  But I’ve decided to narrow the list down to my 5 favorite collabos.  In order, they are:

5.  “You Bring Out The Best In Me” - Vanessa Bell Armstrong feat. Rance Allen (from Vanessa Bell Armstrong’s The Experience)

When Vanessa Bell Armstrong decided to remake her own 80’s hit on her latest album, she prolly could’ve just done it herself and knocked it out of the ballpark.  But she’s a kind and gracious woman, apparently, because she gave us the gift of some classic Rance Allen moaning and groaning that took this live performance to a whole… ‘notha… level.  Their two voices grooving over some Donald Lawrence-produced background vocals– you kinda don’t want the track to end.

4.  “The Joy Of The Lord” - Coko feat. Israel Houghton (from Coko’s The Winner In Me)

Coko is a masterful collaborator in gospel.  It’s like she reads our minds and gives the mic to the VERY folks we’re aching to hear.  On her debut album, she featured everyone from Faith Evans to her mama (Lady Tibba).  This time around, she kept her mama, plus grabbed Kelly Price and Canton Jones.  My fave collabo on the album, though (and, thus, one of my faves of the entire year), was with Israel.  It’s a feel-good track with great vocal performances from both of ‘em… a true treat.

3.  “Available To You” - Melinda Watts feat. J Moss (from Melinda Watts’ People Get Ready)

After a much buzzed-about debut album, Melinda Watts entered the gospel scene with a project that had a little something for everyone.  Perhaps one of her strongest tracks was this duet with J Moss.  Kudos for taking a song that is performed too much at midnight musicals and making it fresh for us again, and double kudos for enlisting the vocal assistance (not that Melinda was at all in need) of one of the best male vocalists in the game.

2.  ”Every Prayer” - Israel Houghton feat. Mary Mary (from Israel Houghton’s The Power Of One)

When I saw that the Marys did a song with Israel, the last thing I thought I’d hear was a jazzy contemporary gospel track.  But they mastered the performance like the pros that they are and it quickly became one of my favorite songs on his album, if not of the entire year.  And there’s a GRAMMY nod to show for it.

1.  “Wait On The Lord” Donnie McClurkin feat. Karen Clark Sheard (from Donnie McClurkin’s We All Are One)

I hear that Karen Clark Sheard wasn’t actually the original choice for this song– it was gonna be Tramaine Hawkins.  That, too, would’ve been an incredible performance, but God does all things well and He knew that this duet was gonna dominate the charts and our iPods.  On this song, Donnie stays true to his strengths– his a classic vocalist who can render a soaring ballad like few others– while Karen gives, arguably, one of her greatest performances in years.

Which collabos were among YOUR faves this year???

Melinda Watts checked in with GospelPundit.com to let you guys know what her favorite part of the holiday season is, and what she’s planning to do this year!

“My favorite part of the Christmas season is going to my parents’ house on Christmas Eve and having a very big dinner!  Every year we have shrimp scampi (a tradition) and all of my family brings different dishes over… We talk about our year and what we mean to each other.  I love it!

This year, my plans are different because I have a daughter now and my holidays will include a lot of Santa and wrapping paper!  I will be doing some concerts at houses in Sacramento during the week of Christmas.  I’m excited because they will be very intimate settings.”

About a month ago, I blogged about the popular Urban Soul Cafe two-day event that is taking place during Stellar Awards weekend, ON January 14th and 16th.  Just wanted to throw out another reminder– if you’re going to be in the area, buy your tickets now!  They’re only $10 in advance.

The events (hosted by Lexi, Canton Jones, DeWayne Woods and Sheilah Belle) will feature performances from J Moss, Melinda Watts, Y’Anna Crawley, Myron Butler, Sean Simmonds, Lisa McClendon and many more.

Plus, it was recently announced that Dr. Bobby Jones will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

I think it’ll be a good time of great performances that you don’t wanna miss.  Anyone planning to go?  Anyone been to one before?

If you’re gonna be REMOTELY close to Nashville for Stellar Awards weekend, make sure you mark the Bonnerfide Radio Launch Party on your calendar.  It’s going to be awesome!

Bonnerfide Radio is the brainchild of host Gerard Bonner.  In just a few short months, the show has raised the bar for what gospel radio should be.  He’s even been nominated for a 2010 Stellar Award for Internet Radio Station Of The Year!

To celebrate the launch of his new show, Gerard is having the launch party of a lifetime on Friday, January 15th.  Featured guests include Sheri Jones-Moffett, JJ Hairston, Lisa Page Brooks, Vashawn Mitchell, Melinda Watts, Jonathan Nelson, Jason Nelson, and MORE.

Click the image below to see the full-size flyer and for more details.  Tickets can be purchased NOW at http://www.GetBonnerfide.com.

I plan to be in the house.  For SURE.  Who else???

And don’t forget– you can tune in to Bonnerfide Radio every weekday morning, from 9am-12:30pm ET (with a little afterparty usually thrown in) at GetBonnerfide.com.

If you’ve ever attended the Stellar Awards weekend or GMA week, you’ve probably noticed (and perhaps attended) the highly popular performance event, Urban Soul Cafe.

Quickly becoming one of the largest and most successful grassroots performance opps in the industry, the event features performances from major and indie artists at reasonable prices in an intimate setting.

This year, Urban Soul Cafe presents its Stellar Awards weekend event, “Access Granted,” and it promises to be just as good as past events, with performances expected from J Moss, Melinda Watts, 21:03, Adrianne Archie and many more urban gospel artists.

There will be two events– one on Thursday, January 14th and one following the Stellars taping on Saturday, January 16th– and will be hosted by DeWayne Woods, Canton Jones, Lexi and Sheilah Belle.

Click here to view the full flyers for the event and to purchase tickets!

Soooo, if you were followin’ my tweets, you got up-to-the-minute results of the nominees.  My fingers HURT from typing so quickly on that BlackBerry!

For those of you who missed it, click here for a full list of nominees.

I’m disappointed that Sheri Jones-Moffett, Coko, 21:03, Melinda Watts, Damita Haddon and Kevin LeVar’s names are not anywhere among the nominees.  Each had great projects and should have been recognized.  Majorly not okay.

I’m very happy, though, for artists like Donald Lawrence (one of my faves this year), Kierra Sheard, Mary Mary, Hezekiah Walker, Israel Houghton, Daniel Weatherspoon, Da’ T.R.U.T.H., Bishop Paul Morton…

Geez.  I just dunno.  Some of the names on there…

What do you guys think of the nominees?

If you missed the hit show Praise The Lord on TBN last night, I’m begging you to watch it online today.

This is not to be sensational, nor am I merely writing something so that I can have blog content.  My wife and I just watched the episode on DVR, overcome with emotion and tears THROUGHOUT the one-on-one chat between Pastor Donnie McClurkin and Steve Harvey.  My heart rejoices over Steve Harvey’s life– ALL of it– and I am left speechless by what we witnessed on our television set.  I have never seen anything like it.

I had intended to recap and summarize what Steve said, but I fear that doing so will minimize the value and impact of his words.

I just need you to watch it.  PLEASE watch it.

Click here to view in low video quality, click here for medium video quality, and click here for high quality.

Or, you can visit the TBN archives page at http://tbn.org/watch-us/archives.

I was very blessed to have an open, honest convo with the staggeringly gifted J Moss.

His newest project, Just James, is due in stores this coming Tuesday (the 25th).  It’s his most transparent to date, I think (click here to read my full review) and I urge you guys to buy it when it hits stores.

In this interview, I didn’t hold back and neither did he… he’s a great guy whose sincerity doesn’t end with his music.  No need for intros… here’s the one and only J Moss.

*     *     *

EJ:  Hello!

JM: EJ!

EJ:  *laughs* How’s it going, man?

JM:  Man, I’m absolutely wonderful!

EJ:  That’s a good way to be.  I really appreciate you for taking a minute to chat with me.

JM:  No doubt.

EJ:  Well, let’s jump right to it by talking about this new album, Just James.  I think it’s incredible.

JM:  Do you, man? C’mon EJ!  C’mon, man.  Go’n and be real with your boy!  Let’s have a real session.

EJ:  For real!  I’m tellin’ you… and I said it in my review.  I’m pretty sure that I love it more than any other album you’ve done.  You have a way of taking pretty familiar ideas and just makin’ them completely different, completely fresh and completely relevant.

I mean… it made the car.  And when we put a CD in the car, that means it’s something special.

JM:  You sound like me. *laughs* Yeah!  If it can make the car, it works.  So, okay, I’m talking to real folk right now.  Ok, I’m good! *laughs*

EJ:  *laughs* Talk to me about this project– what does it mean for you?

JM:  Awww, man… God’s heart.  If I can put it in two words– it’s God’s heart.  The first record, I was hungry, I was a rookie.  I just wanted to be out there.  I had a great machine behind me with Vicki Mack & GospoCentric, and PAJAM.  And it took off.  And I thank God for them because it was really the truth.

EJ:  Sure.

JM:  But then the next record, V2, was coming off of the success of V1.  So, now I’m feelin’ myself.  I’m calling all my friends–  I got Steve Harvey, Anthony Hamilton, the list goes on.  Great record– live strings, live band, all kinds of stuff.  But that was MY record.

THIS record, V3, is God’s record.  It’s the heart of God.  It was probably the record I was supposed to do first.  But, it didn’t happen that way.  And I can really say that I’ve moved J outta the way, PDA [Paul "PDA" Allen] was able to move himself out of the way, and we just allowed God to quarterback and drive the whole thing.

EJ:  Yeah.

JM:  And every song, every chorus, every lyric, every stanza was just straight from the heart of God and I’m just glad I was able to nail it with His help.

EJ:  Most definitely.  Do you have a favorite track on this album?

JM:  Man… so many at so many different times.  Most of my life right now is dedicated to “Restored,” y’know?  It’s portrayed through that song on many facets– financial has been restored, strength has been restored, personal issues at the crib and stuff, that’s restored.

And then, spiritually, when we fall off, God can restore you back to His good graces, so I think “Restored” says the most to me.

EJ:  Quick question, outta curiousity: did you write “Anointing” for the Clark Sisters?

JM:  No.  No, actually I didn’t.

EJ:  It sounds soooo much like them to me, especially at the end, when you close it out with “the anointing.”  It sounds just like something Twinkie [Clark] would do.

JM:  Oh, dude!  It was definitely in TRIBUTE to Twinkie.

EJ:  *laughs*

JM:  I love Nat King Cole and I’ve always wanted to do a loungy, big band, big ballad kinda joint.  And I said “I wanna kinda take a little bit of Twinkie’s vibe,” which is in me anyway because of the bloodline, “and mix it with a ‘We Must Praise’, Nat King Cole kinda thing and see what we come up with,” and there it was, you know?  But it was not written for the girls, it was actually written for me.

EJ:  I love it.  Listen, I want to, respectfully, talk about what’s happened over the past year or so for you, because it seems to provide a strong basis for really understanding your album.  And I think that if people get that, then the healing that is in this album is more apparent and potent.

JM:  Absolutely.

EJ:  By now, many people know that there was an extramarital affair that took place, and that a child was conceived from that.  When I reported what was happening, I wanted to preempt the rumors and kinda stop people from condemnation.  And I said, “guys, don’t knock him, just cover him and his family in prayer because that’s the best thing we can do right now.”

JM:  Right.

EJ:  But one thing that I said at the time is that your music talked about, or kinda foreshadowed, these struggles and these temptations… like on “Livin’ 4″ and “Florida,” your lyrics talked about how rough it is.  Were those songs real for you?

JM:  Not at the moment.  They were just me being a great writer.  A lot of that stuff wasn’t necessarily where I was, it was just me being able to paint the picture.  God has given me that gift.

EJ:  Absolutely.

JM:  But when it actually happened, you get the Just James project.  You can feel the heart.  It’s not just a story going forth– it’s you.  So, I think that when I went through that affliction, it beefed up everything.

I think the writings, at the time, were more prophetic than anything else.  With “Livin’ 4,” I was just coming into the game.  But after I went through it… And a lot of what I went through, EJ, was my OWN doing.  This wasn’t peer pressure, it wasn’t industry pressure… it wasn’t groupies flocking around.  This was just J Moss feelin’ himself.

EJ:  Wow.

JM:  PERIOD.  This was simply coming off of “We Must Praise,” being a big dawg, V2 over 100,000 [units]… this was just J being “the man.”  Being told he was fine every day, being told he was sexy every single day, being told that people wanted him to be their baby’s daddy… you know?  EVERY DAY.  You think the R&B people have it hard?  The gospel people do too.

EJ:  I know it.

JM:  So, I began to move further and further away from Christ, and got further and further involved with those temptations.  And it led to that situation.  And I have to tell you– when I get up now to talk about it, a lot of people say “J, you’re talking too much, we’ve moved on, we’re good.”  And I say “nah, man.  There are people out here DYING from this stuff.”

EJ:  Absolutely.

JM:  The Bible says that the wages of sin is death, but I gotta get up and tell people that the wages of sin almost KILLED me, in terms of suicidal thoughts.  I was plotting it out, thinking it out… all kinds of depression.  I was going through the scrutiny in the media, the blogosphere, everywhere… that stuff was rough!

And when we sin, we chip away at salvation.  Every time, we KILL something– we kill faith, we kill credibility, we kill relationships, we kill families… every time, we kill a piece of something.

I realized that people who are not going to Bible class, or to church on Sunday morning, will listen to me at a concert because they love me or they love my voice.  So, NOW is my chance to say “you know what?  Now that I’ve got your attention, let me tell you what’s really real.  Let me stop making you feel good all the time, and let me tell you what’s real.”

EJ:  Amen.

JM:  It’s been a great ride.  I know that’s sort of a paradox, but it’s been a great ride.  Very painful, but it’s been gratifying to know that my ministry has been propelled to a different level.

EJ:  I hear that.  Someone told me, recently, that conflict is just an opportunity, if we can embrace it as such.  There’s something to learn from everything.

JM:  Yeah.

EJ:  Lemme ask you– would you have talked about what you went through had it not been publicized?  For you, we saw newspaper reports where a woman was coming forward, charges were being filed in courts… but there are other artists in gospel who are doing the same dirt.  They just haven’t been exposed in that way.

JM:  Yep.

EJ:  Would you have embraced this reality?  Would you have talked about it, had it not been publicized?

JM:  Well, I’ma be real with you.  I tell my wife every day, I say “babe, had it not made the paper, I would’ve never said a word.”  You know?

EJ:  Wow.  That’s real.

JM:  For one, I didn’t want to leave that lifestyle because it felt good.  And, you know, people say “affair” and they think it was some long-term thing.  This wasn’t that.  It was something that I got caught up in.  But I wasn’t afflicted until it became public.

So, I feel like it was GOOD that it came out like it did because had it not, I wouldn’t have been able to learn His statutes even better.  I don’t think I would’ve stopped because I was enjoying what I had.

EJ:  Yeah.

JM:  But being broken from that– when God broke the chains and broke me from it, I see the importance of making sure I stay on top of it and remain verbal about it.  And to say it over and over again.

EJ:  Absolutely.  How much of this album had you finished before all of this broke… I mean, the album is transparent and reflective, but what direction were you going in?  How much of this album had you done before and what did it sound like?

JM:  None really.  With the exception of a few choruses or some unfinished stuff that we had, I think “God Happens” maybe, but other than that, nothing.

Everything about this project– it’s not dedicated to that situation, but it’s just a celebration of actually being down in the valley, down in the slums, and being able to somehow claw your way out of it and get back to being a person again, back to being a vessel again.

EJ:  That’s powerful.

JM:  Yeah.  Because I gotta tell you– when I was down there, I felt like “why bother?”  And that’s why I wanted to kill myself– it was like “ok, all is lost… all is over, I can’t recover from THIS.”  And there’s so many people out there going through the same stuff.  And that’s what God showed me in that affliction– He said “what you’re feeling right now is who I need you to speak to.  I’m going to put you back on your platform, back on the market, to now tell people who won’t listen to anyone else.”

EJ:  How are you maintaining this newfound perspective or this clarity?  Do you have accountability partners in place?  How do you prevent a “V2 mindset” from happening again?

JM:  It’s effortless, man.  Effortless.  Once you go through a deliverance process like I did, the taste I had in my mouth for certain things is just simply gone… where I am, how I greet people now… I’m just very cautious about my anointing, who I hang with, who I walk with.  Having to almost have LOST it all, it gives me that much more drive to do this right.

I’m a lover a righteousness and I’m trying to stay on this horse and do it right.

EJ:  That’s great, man.  One more question on this topic before we move on– we talked earlier about other artists going through similar stuff.  It’s not just “the talented J Moss” who fell prey to something… it’s more common than that, where other artists are finding themselves in the same situations.  RECENTLY.  It’s just not in the newspapers yet.  And maybe it won’t be.

But having gone through that, how would you now petition OTHER gospel artists to govern themselves?  What is your word to the wise?

JM:  Learn from me.  I always say this– my brother, 3 years older than me, went through so much stuff that it actually shaped me into a better dude.  I knew what not to do because I wanted to avoid those consequences.

So, hopefully, I can be that beacon for them.  I’d tell people “you may be in something, it may feel good, but God sees and knows all.  When He’s fed up, He’s gonna come and get you.”

EJ:  Wow.

JM:  So my prayer is that you can use your big brother, your little brother, whoever might be reading… and use me as an example.  You can even call my name if it helps you– “I don’t want to be another J Moss.”  And you DON’T.

You don’t ever wanna go through what I had to go through with my wife… telling her and seeing her reaction.  You don’t ever wanna have to go through what I read daily on the internet screens, y’know, after giving so much to people.  You don’t ever want to have to go through people looking down their noses at you as much as I had to.  And you don’t ever want to fall out of grace with God.

So, if you can, use your boy’s life as an example and get out.  Walk away.  It’s not worth it.  You’re hurting way too many people and it’s not a good feeling.  But thank God for victory.

EJ:  Dude.  Amen to that.  Good stuff.  Hey, you’re on Twitter now.  You enjoying it?

JM:  Yeah!  I’m afraid of the internet– and I know that God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear– but the human side of me is very leery and hesitant about the internet because of what I went through.  I can’t even Google a movie without feeling like I might see my name pop up and see something negative.  That’s how much I was scarred.

EJ:  Aww, man.

JM:  But on the other hand, it’s been good.  I can honestly say that people have really shown love– people like you and other sites, pastors, well-wishers… everyone has just embraced me and said “we’re good.”  It’s still a bit of a struggle, but it feels great to be back.

EJ:  Well, we’re glad you’re back, man.  Any tour plans in the works for this album?

JM:  We’ve got a promotional run that’s on the website at InsideJMoss.com, we’re closing up the tour I did with CeCe [Winans] with McDonald’s– we’ve got one more date for that in DC, and that’s just been crazy, man.

EJ:  Yeah?

JM:  Every night– sharing my testimony with people.  And GUYS… lemme tell you, EJ.  It was prophesied to me that the trajectory of my ministry would now be at the hearts of MEN– strong men.  And that’s who I’ve seen coming up to me after each show or writing in… saying that they’ve been delivered or that they feel better about where they are because of my situation.

So, I just thank God.  I’m sitting on top of the world right now.  And I don’t say that with arrogance… I’m saying it in a spiritual sense.  God has me on something else and I absolutely love it.

EJ:  That’s great.  I’m so glad to hear that, man.  What else?  You did Gospel Dream a second time around on Gospel Music Channel… how was it for you, especially compared to last year with Melinda Watts?

JM:  Well, I think that what the producers tried to add– with the boot camp, the on-screen sessions with the professionals, the TV portion– all of that was great.  I think they really stepped up the show.

EJ:  Sure.

JM:  Talent-wise, I think it’s just like [American] Idol or Sunday Best.  You’re gonna have some years where the talent is through the roof, and you’ll have some years where you have to go with what you’ve got and maybe the talent is not as good as the previous year.  I think everyone on the first year that I did it– they were just phenomenal.

And that’s not to slight any of the contestants from this year– they were all good in their own right.  I think the winner this year was actually the real winner.

EJ:  Yeah, I like him… Tony LeBron.

JM:  But I enjoyed it– just to be apart of something like that.  Especially in the midst of what I was going through at the time, for them to still back me and say “we’re still gonna use J… we heard he’s accountable and doing what he’s supposed to do, he’s gotten right with his church, his pastor still endorses him” (because I did what I was supposed to do by my church and the Church Of God In Christ).  I just thank God that He sustained my TV contracts and my tour contracts, my record contracts… man, it couldn’t be any better.

EJ:  That’s a beautiful thing.  Man, I am honored that you took the time to speak with me.  And thank you for your honesty and your candor.  I really believe lives will be set free through your album and your ministry.

It really speaks to the scriptures that say that the steps of a good man are ordered by God, and that all things work together for good… I bet that if someone told you back in October that all of this would work systematically for God’s glory, you probably wouldn’t have believed it.

JM:  Right!  Yeah! *laughs*

EJ:  But, I thank God that He’s all about glorifying Himself through all things.

JM:  And you know, man, I’m just assignment driven.  I wanna say to your readers– well, to you first of all– thank you.  You have been more than helpful in supporting me and letting the public know “hey, we’ve got J’s back, we’ve got PAJAM’s back.”  Words cannot express enough how much I appreciate that, man.

Plus, one of the things that helped smooth out the rough edges for me– I have GREAT people around me.  I can’t say enough about the PAJAM crew who did not justify what I did, didn’t condone what I did… PDA and Walter [Kearney] are my big brothers, they’re older than me, so I had to take my beatings from them.  But at the same time, they covered me.

EJ:  Good!

JM:  They kept my spirits up because they saw me fall into that state where I wanted to take myself out.  People like that, and then my siblings… and my LOVELY wife who, I mean… the interview wouldn’t be appropriate if I didn’t mention that SHE is the one who, ultimately, helped me out of depression.

She is the one who came to me and said “hey, I’m gonna stay with you, honey, even if it’s against my own carnal better judgment… the Lord told me to stay with you because I see where your ministry is going to go.  God has spoken to me.”  She spoke with my pastor, we prayed together…

EJ:  That’s encouraging to hear.

JM:  We just have a wonderful, lovely marriage, man.  My children love me… and I don’t talk about that much because I don’t want people to go and take that the wrong way, but I just thank those who are responsible for encouraging me and keeping me uplifted.

EJ:  That’s real.  God is a restoring God, for sure.

JM:  Yeah.

EJ:  Well, definitely keep in touch, man.

JM:  You got it.  Thanks, man.  Now can I get up on the TwitterRoll?  Can I get up on the TwitterRoll, dawg?! *laughing*

EJ:  *laughs* You’re on the TwitterRoll, no?!  I’ma make sure you’re on it.  And I’ll tell some folks to follow you today, cuz I know you just got on.

JM:  Yeah, I just got on it.

EJ:  Alright.

JM:  Ok, cool.  Thanks man.

EJ:  No doubt.

JM:  I’ll holla at you.

EJ:  Cool.

*     *     *

So how about that?!  I’m tellin’ you– bump what you heard… good guy, for real.  He’s not perfect, but he definitely ain’t claiming to be.  And I think he’s in a good place.  PRAY FOR HIM and his family, ok?

And make sure you stay connected with him at http://www.InsideJMoss.com and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/InsideJMoss.

And uhhh… what did you guys think of the interview?