(Photo : Javen)

One quick glance at JAVEN's resume, and you would be sure that the LA-based recording artist had officially "made it."

He started his TV career as a co-host on BET's "Paula White Show" before becoming a guest soloist on numerous networks, including TBN, FOX and NBC. Plus, he's starred in theatrical productions and feature films, including A Raisin in the Sun and One Night With the King.

And then there's the music.

JAVEN's newest single, "Worshiper In Me," is a testament to his true passion and purpose, to the thing that means more to him than anything else - more than the fame, the fans, the awards.

Praise and worship is where it all began, and now, says JAVEN, his career has come full circle.

Tell me about your new, live CD Worship in the Now. What can fans expect from this album?

First off, I have to tell you that I'm excited that I was able to team up with my good friend Jonathan Nelson to produce this live CD. It's a live, power-packed, praise and worship CD, with all original songs - with the exception of a few that we covered: the "Hosanna" song from the Hillsong folks, and then, of course, I did a cover of "Majesty," the classic that was written by Jack Hayford. It's a power-packed CD with songs that will uplift the spirit and give praise teams and churches an opportunity to have some fresh material.

What was your inspiration for the original songs you wrote for the project?

A lot of these songs have come from the years of just knowing God and having a relationship with God. Worship is one of the things that you have to have a relationship with God in order to really experience it in a powerful way because it's not about acknowledging things that God has done for you as much as it acknowledges who God is in your life. And when I think about all the things that God has done for me and what He's been to me... I lost my father when I was 19 years old to cancer, and God has been a father to me. He has been a confidant; he's been that strength in a time of weakness. That's where these songs come from, and that's what these songs talk about. 

And the Worship In the Now Conference? How is that related to the new CD?

The thing about Worship in the Now is, obviously, it's more than a project. I'm telling people it's become a movement. We did the recording about a year-and-a-half ago, and from the recording we launched the Worship in the Now Conference, which is a 2-day conference series that we do with a combination of artists that lead and worship. And then we have speakers like former NFL player Terrell Fletcher, life coach to the stars Tim Storey and more. So it's a combination of both the Word and worship, and people are just engulfed in the presence of God. We've gotten so many testimonies of people being healed, folks being set free. Even one lady talked about having her husband being a part of the conference getting totally healed from cancer. So it's just been amazing to see what God is doing with the conference. It's a powerful movement.

Obviously, worship is a very important part of your life. Why is it important for you to get all of America worshiping?

We want to get America worshiping because worship is one of the most powerful weapons that we have as believers. The Bible says pray without ceasing, and it says also to come boldly to the throne room of God. But when we pray, we can only pray about things we know about, things that we are aware of. When we start worshipping God, the Bible says that He inhabits the praises of His people. So when we begin to lift up the name of Jesus, the presence of God is being invited in. The Holy Spirit is a gentleman, and the Holy Spirit is a personality in the sense that He has to be welcomed in. So when you welcome in the Holy Spirit by your worship, God can fix things you know about, and then He can also fix things that you don't know about.

One of the other reasons we want to get America worshipping is because we know that as the people began to sing and be continuously in the presence of God, mental anguish, anxiety, brokenness - from women who are depressed because they are trying to raise a child by themselves or going through an abusive relationship, or a businessman, leader or pastor who's trying their best to keep a budget together but they just don't have the funds to take care of all the needs, financially, for their company or their church - that stress, that gets released when people begin to usher into worship. So we know that as folks begin to worship, they will find that kind of supernatural peace that they deserve. The Bible says that the chastisement of our peace was upon Him. That means the responsibility of our peace was upon Christ when He died on the cross. All we have to do is just throw our hands up and begin to acknowledge God and we'll find that peace that we deserve to have.

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