The 24th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards were handed out on Saturday, January 17th at the legendary Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tenn. Leading the list of winners is chart-topping traditional Gospel singer Marvin Sapp with eight awards including "Artist of the Year," "Song of the Year," "Male Vocalist of the Year," and "CD of the Year." 

     Jonathan Nelson nabbed three Stellar statues including "Contemporary CD of the Year," "Group/Duo of the Year" and "Contemporary Group/Duo of the Year" for the CD "Right Now Praise," from "Jonathan Nelson featuring Purpose." 

     The ladies shined bright with Jessica Green taking home the "New Artist of the Year" award and The Clark Sisters winning in the "Special Event of the Year" category.
 
     Don Jackson, Chairman and CEO of Central City Productions, brought the prestigious award show back to Nashville, Tenn. for the 4th consecutive year, bringing excitement, anticipation and Gospel music's brightest stars to Music City. Superstars of music, film and television came out in support of the show's 24th year, including "The View's" Sherri Shepherd, actors Sheryl Lee Ralph, Clifton Davis, and R&B singer Mario of "Dancing with The Stars." 

     Stellar performances came from the always energetic Tye Tribbett, this year's "Urban/Inspirational Single or Performance CD of the Year" winner Kirk Franklin and last year's "Rap Hip-Hop Gospel CD of the Year" winner, Da' T.R.U.T.H.
 
     The Stellar Gospel Music Awards will air nationally on March 1, 2009 on the Gospel Music Channel and on March 7, 2009 on WGN America. Please check www.thestellarawards.com for local listings.
 
     24th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Award Winners:
 
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
– Marvin Sapp, Thirsty, Verity/Zomba Label Group
 
SONG OF THE YEAR
– Marvin Sapp and Matthew Brownie, "Never Would Have Made It" – Thirsty, Zomba Label Group
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
– Marvin Sapp, Thirsty, Verity/Zomba Label Group
 
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
– Dorinda Clark-Cole, Take it Back, Zomba Label Group
 
GROUP/DUO OF THE YEAR
– Jonathan Nelson featuring Purpose, Right Now Praise, Integrity Music
 
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
– Jessica Greene, 4 the World, Habakkuk Music
 
CD OF THE YEAR
– Marvin Sapp, Thirsty, Verity/Zomba Label Group
 
CHOIR OF THE YEAR
– Ricky Dillard & New G, The 7th Episode: Live in Toronto , NuSpring Records/EMI Gospel
 
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
– Aaron Lindsey, Thirsty, Zomba Label Group
 
CONTEMPORARY GROUP/DUO OF THE YEAR
-Jonathan Nelson featuring Purpose, Right Now Praise, Integrity Music
 
TRADITIONAL GROUP/DUO OF THE YEAR
– The Canton Spirituals, Driven, Verity/Zomba Label Group
 
CONTEMPORARY MALE OF THE YEAR
-Byron Cage, Live at the Apoll The Proclamation, Gospocentric/Zomba Label Group
 
TRADITIONAL MALE OF THE YEAR
– Marvin Sapp, Thirsty, Verity/Zomba Label Group
 
CONTEMPORARY FEMALE OF THE YEAR
– CeCe Winans, Thy Kingdom Come, PureSprings Gospel
 
TRADITIONAL FEMALE OF THE YEAR
– Beverly Crawford, Live from Los Angeles , JDI Records
 
CONTEMPORARY CD OF THE YEAR
– Jonathan Nelson featuring Purpose, Right Now Praise, Integrity Music
 
TRADITIONAL CD OF THE YEAR
– Marvin Sapp, Thirsty, Verity/Zomba Label Group
 
URBAN/INSPIRATIONAL SINGLE OR PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
– Kirk Franklin, "Declaration: (This is it)" – The Fight of My Life, Fo Yo Soul/Gospocentric/Zomba Label Group
 
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
– Marvin Sapp, "Never Would Have Made It", Verity/Zomba Label Group
 
TRADTIONAL CHOIR OF THE YEAR
– Bishop Paul Morton & The Full Gospel Baptist Church Choir, Embracing the Next Dimension, Light Records/Tehillah
 
CONTEMPORARY CHOIR OF THE YEAR
– Ricky Dillard & New G., The 7th Episode: Live in Toronto , NuSpring Records/EMI Gospel
 
INSTRUMENTAL GOSPEL CD OF THE YEAR
– Angella Christie, The Breath of Life, ACSM Music
 
SPECIAL EVENT CD OF THE YEAR
– The Clark Sisters, The Best of the Clark Sisters Encore, Dexterity Sounds
 
RAP HIP HOP GOSPEL CD OF THE YEAR
– Da' T.R.U.T.H., Open Book, Cross Movement Records
 
CHILDRENS PROJECT OF THE YEAR
– Kaira Miller, In God's Time/It Ain't Over, GFM Entertainment
 
QUARTET OF THE YEAR
– Lee Williams & The Spiritual QC'S, So Much to be Thankful for, MCG Records
 
RECORDED MUSIC PACKAGING OF THE YEAR
– Michelle Lukianovich, Art Direction & Design; Keith Major, Photography, Marvin Sapp – Thirsty, Verity/Zomba Label Group
 
PRAISE AND WORHSIP CD OF THE YEAR
– Shekinah Glory Ministry, Jesus, Kingdom Records
 

  Dolly Parton, Michael W. Smith, Dr. Bobby Jones, the Dixie Hummingbirds and producer Lari Goss will be inducted into the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame next month. The ceremony will be held Feb. 2, 2009 in Nashville.

     "This year's class of GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame inductees have all achieved great professional and personal success in many different areas of the music and entertainment industries, but each shares a common heritage of the Gospels' powerful impact on their lives," said GMA president John Styll.

     Parton is best-known for her country and pop hits, but she's also released Gospel records and mainstream songs with Christian themes. The Southern Gospel Music Museum and Hall of Fame is located on the grounds of her Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.

     Smith is one of the best-known artists in Christian music with 18 albums and many hits, including some that crossed over to the pop charts. Jones is a singer and host and executive producer of the long-running "Bobby Jones Gospel" program on the BET cable network. He has a new series on the Gospel Music Channel.

     The Dixie Hummingbirds formed in 1928 and have influenced musical acts in several genres, including early soul singers such as Jackie Wilson and James Brown.  Goss, a keyboard player and arranger, has produced recordings by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, the Cathedrals, Ernie Haase & Signature Sound, Anthony Burger and the Gaither Vocal Band.

Inspirational singer, CeCe Winans, has uplifted and encouraged audiences for over two decades with her angelic and powerful voice.  

Her history has not gone unnoticed and on Friday, January 16, 2009 at Rocketown in Nashville, BMI will honor Winans with a Trailblazer Award for her accomplishments in the recording industry.  

At the impressionable age of 16, Winans was offered a spot with the PTL Singers which required her to move away from home. However, Winans' parents would not allow her to accept the position unless accompanied by her brother, BeBe.  Little did anyone know that the unsolicited opportunity would be such a groundbreaking move; posturing the duo to become instrumental in broadening the boundaries of Gospel music. 

A trailblazer is best described as an innovative leader in a field; a pioneer. Winans' contemporary and worshipful style of music has broken traditional barriers, her entrepreneurial adeptness and heart for humanity appropriately defines her as a trailblazer. Gospel music power houses Donald Lawrence and Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark are also slated to receive an award.

All roads lead to Nashville this week for Gospel's biggest night, The 24th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards at The Grand Ole Opry House on Saturday, January 17 at 4:00pm (CT). Winans kicks off the year with four (4) Stellar nods: Female Vocalist of the Year, Contemporary Female of the Year, Urban Single Performance of the Year, "Waging War" and Praise & Worship CD of the Year, for “Thy Kingdom Come.”  

“Not Easily Broken” is the latest faith-based film to break into the box office top ten with its weekend debut, grossing around $5.6 million in just 724 theaters across the nation.

It’s also the latest pro-marriage movie to come out as divorce rates within the United States remains high and an alarming 70 percent of Americans believe divorce is “morally acceptable.”

Based on the novel by megachurch minister Bishop T.D. Jakes, “Not Easily Broken” tells the story of Dave and Clarice Johnson (played by Morris Chestnut and Taraji P. Henderson, respectively), a couple whose two-decades-old marriage has been strained by lack of communication and conflicting life priorities.

Dave, the head of a small construction firm, is not too happy with how things have been turning out for him. His dream of playing professional baseball had been dashed by an injury, his bread-winning wife orders him around, and his desire for children are pushed aside to make room for his wife’s career plans.

To make matters worse, when his mother-in-law moves in to help Clarice after a car accident, Dave is pushed even further away from her and closer to another woman. Can Dave and Clarice’s sage old pastor get them through this? Or were they just not meant to be?

Like the recent box office hit “Fireproof,” “Not Easily Broken” focuses on the need for couples to have God in the marriage equation.

“I think it's a message about family, about marriage and some of the struggles that you face in a marriage,” added Jakes, the senior pastor of 30,000-member The Potters House in Dallas, according to Charisma magazine. “And it encourages people to fight through those struggles and to persevere and that our marital relationships are certainly worth fighting for.”

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease and Control, the marriage rate in 2005 was 7.5 per 1,000 total population while the divorce rate was 3.6 per 1,000.

And, more recently, a poll by Gallup’s Values and Beliefs survey last year found that an alarming 70 percent of Americans now believe that divorce is “morally acceptable.” The latest figure – the highest on record – represents an 11 percent increase from just 7 years ago and a 3 percent increase from 2 years ago.

Amid these trends, movies such as “Fireproof” and “Not Easily Broken” have been welcomed by pro-family advocates and groups, particularly the former, which drew the support of Focus on the Family, Outreach, FamilyLife, The Marriage CoMission, America's Family Coaches, AMFM, Marriage Alive Communications, and MarriageToday, among others.

To date, “Fireproof” has made over $33 million after its $6.8 million debut last September.

Both the budgets for “Fireproof” and “Not Easily Broken” are small by Hollywood standards. For “Not Easily Broken,” the production budget was $5 million while it was $500,000 for “Fireproof.”

Reported budgets for the eight movies that placed ahead of “Not Easily Broken” this past weekend ranged from $30 million to $150 million.

Despite the small budgets and significantly fewer numbers of theaters, both “Fireproof” and “Not Easily Broken” have made their presence known in the box office and are considered part of a faith-based movie-making movement that is increasingly making waves in Hollywood.

“Jesus said 'Go into all the world,'” Jakes told Charisma.

“Going into all the world doesn't mean a camel and a pair of sandals today, but it means invading the Internet. It means using the telephone; it means using the iPod. It means using the computer, and the silver screen becomes a way to go into all the world,” he said.

President-elect Barack Obama has been without a worship community for about a year now and throughout that time, he says, it’s been difficult.

“Now, I've got a wonderful community of people who are praying for me every day, and they call me up and – you know, but it's not the same as going to church and the choir's going and you get a good sermon,” he said in an interview aired Sunday by ABC's "This Week."

Over the past year, Obama has been attending church sparingly and though it’s been nearly two weeks since he and his family arrived in Washington, the president-elect said they still don’t have a church to attend yet.

But Obama said one of the items on his list of things to do is to visit churches in the area and “seeing what’s comfortable,” preferably before his fast-approaching inauguration date.

“It is tougher as president,” said the incoming commander-in-chief.

And it’s not just an issue of going to church, Obama added. “It’s an issue of going anywhere.”

“You don't want to subject your fellow church members, the rest of the congregation, to being magged every time you go to church,” Obama said. “And so, we're going to try to be balancing, not being disruptive to the city, but also saying we want to be part of Washington D.C.”

Since Obama’s victory in November, churches in the nation’s capital have been extending invitations to him and his family, touting their African-American roots, their ties to past presidents and to Obama himself. According to reports, United Church of Christ, Methodist, nondenominational, and historic black congregations have all extended invitations to the Obamas to attend their services.

“The eclectic nature of Obama’s spiritual pilgrimage, coupled with his coming to Washington unaffiliated with a denomination, has increased the competition among congregations for the involvement of the president-elect and his family,” observed Dr. Gary Scott Smith, author of Faith and the Presidency: From George Washington to George W. Bush.

Whatever choice the Obamas make, it is sure to be analyzed with Obama's relationship to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright in mind.

Wright, who was Obama's pastor for 20 years at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, became a campaign issue after videos of him making controversial statements from the pulpit circulated on the Internet and on television.

The comments, which included “God damn America,” forced Obama to distance himself from the minister, whose comments Obama denounced as "divisive and destructive."

With only eight days remaining before his inauguration, things will certainly be picking up a lot faster for Obama. And though many Christians will be hoping that Obama finds the right church soon and makes the time to attend regularly, they’re also hoping that Christ remains “a [daily] source of strength and sustenance” for Obama, as he claimed He was during the church-hosted Civil Forum on the Presidency last year.

“While Christians hope that the Obamas will worship regularly, they are equally concerned that the new president faithfully reads the Bible, seeks God’s strength and guidance through prayer, and strives to base his policies on biblical principles,” author Smith commented.

Obama is expected to be the first president since Franklin D. Roosevelt to be without the counsel of the Rev. Billy Graham, the man affectionately known as the “World’s Preacher” and “America’s Pastor” for more than 60 years.

In comments made late last year, Graham’s youngest son, Franklin Graham, informed the media that his father’s “time and day for that (pastoring to presidents) is over.”

"But he would certainly like to meet [Obama] and pray with him," the younger Graham added.

Though never partisan in his preaching, Billy Graham is a registered Democrat, according to AP.

NCAA football star Tim Tebow helped bring the spotlight to his team and his faith Thursday night, leading No. 1 Florida to a 24-14 win over No. 2 Oklahoma for the BCS championship.

The Gators quarterback ran 22 times for 109 yards and completed 18 of 30 passes for 231 yards.

Other numbers for that night? 3 and 16.

John 3:16, that is.

As he has done throughout the season, Tebow used his black under-eye markings Thursday night to share Scripture, this time donning the most popular Bible verse in America.

For many, the reference was simply a personal form of self-expression, no different another athlete’s lucky gloves or gold-colored shoes.

“Tebow's religious expression has been a big part of the wholesome image we see described in every single feature written about him,” wrote sports columnist Tom Herrera in the NCAA Football Fanhouse.

“If Tebow wants to put his Christian faith on a pedestal, so be it – it doesn't distract me in the slightest,” he added.

For some, however, it was no different from someone touting “There is no God.”

“I just want to watch a football game; I don’t want to be prosetylized (sic) to,” commented William Lobdell, author of Losing My Religion, in his blog Friday.

Though the evangelical-turned-atheist said he understood why Tebow would make such a move, given his strong Christian beliefs, he suggested that anti-God messages would likely not have been allowed by Florida’s coaches and NCAA officials.

“I imagine that these personal slogans will soon be banned,” he wrote.

Despite the controversy, Tebow remains one of the most popular and respected players in NCAA football, having been the first college sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy and the first college football player to both rush and pass for 20 touchdowns in a season.

Aside from his achievements on the field, Tebow has also been highlighted for his evangelistic outreach and overseas charity works. The son of missionaries frequently visits the Philippines, where he was born, and helps orphans and even performs surgeries with the help of an assistant. He has also preached at several venues, including a prison, where he told inmates that he has found “true satisfaction, true happiness.”

“[A]nd it is not by having your name in a newspaper, it is not by winning trophies, and it is not by winning championships,” Tebow told inmates last April at the Lancaster Correctional Institution in Trenton, Fla.

“It is by having a relationship with Jesus Christ," he said before encouraging the inmates to step on to the stage to accept Christ.

Tebow is also one of the most prominent fruits of the homeschooling movement, which has grown 77 percent over the past eight years, according to recently released estimates from National Center of Education Statistics (NCES).

Tebow began his football career after legislation was passed in Florida in 1996 that allowed homeschooled students to compete in local high school sporting events. He and his siblings were all homeschooled by their mother, who worked to instill the family’s deep Christian beliefs along the way.

According to reports, Tebow figures to soon decide whether he'll return to Florida for his senior season or enter the NFL draft.

Two-time Grammy award-winning gospel superstar, Donnie McClurkin will be featured as part of the all-star line-up confirmed for the 10th Anniversary Super Bowl Gospel Celebration. 

     The announcement was made by Melanie Few, president of Results, Inc., the legacy concert’s founder and producer.

     The commemorative presentation of the Super Bowl Gospel Celebration (SBGC) will be held as part of the National Football League’s sanctioned events held in conjunction with Super Bowl XLIII on Friday, January 30, 2009 at the Sun Dome at University of South Florida located at 4202 East Fowler Avenue in Tampa, Florida.

     “We are excited and honored that Donnie McClurkin, one of the greatest gospel artist of all time will take part in the tenth anniversary show,” said Few. “Donnie has been a longstanding supporter of Super Bowl Gospel Celebration and his performances are highly anticipated and beloved by the players and fans alike.”

     Gospel superstars Mary Mary, Marvin Sapp and Hezekiah Walker are also among the performers scheduled for the 10th Anniversary Super Bowl Gospel Celebration.

*In a first for presidential inaugurations, Congressman Paul Broun of Georgia joined Reverend Rob Schenck of Faith and Action and others.

     Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition, both based in Washington, DC, in a prayer service inside the US Capitol that included anointing the doorway President-Elect Barack Obama will pass through on his way to the platform to be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States on January 20.

     "Anointing with oil is a rich tradition both in the Bible and in the history of the US Capitol," said Rev. Schenck. "Oil symbolizes consecration, or setting something apart for God's use.

     George Washington used oil during the dedication of the US Capitol. We used oil today to set apart the walkway and doors that will be the literal rite of passage for Barack Obama as he ascends to the highest office in our land."

     Rep. Broun spoke during the 10-minute prayer service, delivering a short sermon-like talk on the need to obey God and His will, and for the future president to do what is right. Rev. Schenck read Bible passages and applied sacred oil to the doorposts of the arched doorway leading out of the Capitol and onto the inaugural stage, immediately in front of the riser where Obama will stand with Chief Justice John Roberts who will administer the Oath of Office. Rev. Mahoney, who is undertaking a 21-day fast and daily prayer schedule for Mr. Obama across the street from the White House, read an inaugural prayer by Dr. Billy Graham delivered 40 years ago.

     Congressman Broun referred to the location of the prayer service as "the doorway that (President-Elect Obama) will enter through to the start of his presidency."

     A video of the entire prayer service and more information is available at www.faithandaction.org.

An Oakland Circuit Court judge has signed a default judgment in a paternity case against gospel recording artist J. Moss, ordering him to pay child support to a Georgia woman.

J. Moss, whose real name is James L. Moss Sr. and lives in West Bloomfield Township , was named in a paternity lawsuit filed in June by Lakisha Hughes, 28, of Douglasville , Ga. , concerning her son, Christion, born March 15. A court-ordered DNA test subsequently determined the 36-year-old Moss is the boy's father with "99.9 percent" accuracy, according to the court file.

"I really don't wish to discuss this — it's a difficult situation involving children, two families and also careers," said Hughes on Thursday.

Moss could not be reached for comment at his home or recording studio, PAJAM Music in Oak Park .

When Moss failed to respond to court filings, Oakland Circuit Judge Cheryl Matthews signed a judgment Monday prepared by the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office requiring Moss to pay $1,028 a month support until the boy turns 18 years old.

Court documents reveal Hughes is unemployed, has a teenage daughter and is divorced. Moss is listed as married and has two other children with his wife. Court filings indicate Moss admitted to Hughes as being the father of her son and even sent her text messages regarding her pregnancy and the child — and "I still have them," she noted in one filing.

Hughes and Moss never lived together, she told the court.

Hughes also said Moss offered to pay abortion expenses but never provided any of the medical care. He never visited the child, but had given her "a total of $450 for Christion," she wrote.

Moss records and produces recordings under PAJAM Music. Hughes estimated in the court filing his gross monthly earnings at $50,000.

Moss is the son of gospel star Bill Moss Sr. and grew up on tours with his father's group, Bill Moss and the Celestials, and a cousin's group, The Clark Sisters. Moss, who grew up in Detroit and attended Michigan State University for two years, is a tenor who plays keyboards and both writes and produces music with his production group PAJAM.

Written by Mike Martindale for The Detroit News www.detnews.com

Faith-Based Inaugural Ball to be held in Washington DC January 18th will feature celebrity Christian Artists, political guests and “King Of Clean” AJ Jamal

Washington, DC – The 2009 Inaugural Praise Ball, a unique formal event that celebrates the induction of our in-coming President and the millions of people-of-faith who campaigned, believed and prayed for change, will be held 7:00 pm, January 18th 2008 at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, DC.

The Praise Ball, fittingly themed “Yes, God Did!” will include appearances by celebrity and political guests, and performances by Lady Tramaine Hawkins other well-known Gospel Artists and Gospel Comedy All-Star “King Of Clean,” AJ Jamal.

“We wanted to sponsor an event that would truly speak to the success of this past election,” says founder and president of Royal Events LLC, Theresa Royal. “ It was by millions of Americans coming together in faith and in prayer that we now can give God praise for our new President, Barack Obama. God is the true reason for the victory and will be the main reason for the Inaugural celebration.”

The event will also include commemorative gifts, dinner and dancing to inspirational music and Jazz. For entertainment and performance updates, sponsorships and ticket information visit www.praiseball2009.com.