Caleb Louden (CL): You are one of the definitive artists in contemporary Christian music history. You’re a Grammy-winning singer/songwriter, best-selling author, and actress. You’ve written over a dozen books and starred in over a dozen movies. You’re also a podcast host who has partnered with Christian organizations like Focus on the Family and K-LOVE. You’ve had an historic career and have worked in a variety of media. Given your many accomplishments and the diversity of your endeavors, how do you define your calling? What is your God-given purpose?

Rebecca St. James (RSJ): It’s funny, somebody asked me a long time ago, “What do you want to see on your gravestone?” I know that sounds like really thinking it through right to the end of my life, but I think it really ties into purpose because I said that I want to be known as somebody who loved God with their whole heart and loved people. That’s my goal, and obviously we all fail at times. We don’t always attain our goals perfectly. That’s why there’s the need for grace and the Savior, but that’s my heart. Mother Teresa has been a hero of mine because she lived that out so beautifully, and the world saw Jesus in her. I think in all these different areas from songwriting to live shows to the books, all of it — if people can see the love of God in me and that I’m really wanting to operate as a conduit of His Spirit and His love, then that would be a life well lived.

CL: Did you ever think that you would have done all the things that you’ve done when you first started off? It’s incredible to have millions of songs and albums sold, to be in over a dozen movies, written over a dozen books, done podcasting and been a GRAMMY-winning artist — it must feel surreal?

RSJ: It is. It is a little crazy if you put it in those terms. I suppose I didn’t think about it at the time, but I think in this season of life, in my 40s, I’m realizing that it’s just been an adventure. So much has felt adventurous, and I remember giving my gifts to God at 12, and thinking, “Lord, I don’t know how you can use me, but I want to make a difference.” I think at that point because I was starting to get a sense that He was leading me into music. I probably thought I’d do something in music but probably not all the other things. I had a heart for acting at a young age — probably about six years old I saw “The Sound of Music.”. I thought, “Wow, that’s amazing. It’d be fun to be in something like that.” It really had moved my heart in a powerful way, but I don’t think I thought it would be as much an adventure as it’s been.

CL: Speaking of that adventure, that adventure continued this year with yet another book. You co-wrote with your husband. What motivated you to write this book, and what do you hope it will do for your readers?

RSJ: It was actually a producer friend from “Unsung Hero” that came to us and said that he felt like our story separately and together, me and Cubbie’s story, has great value at this time in our present moment — for Christians to hear about what God has done in our lives and be encouraged by that. He just felt like it’s needed, and I think what he was saying, and what we see is that a lot of Christians deconstructing their faith or being a bit disillusioned with the church or struggling in marriage or family life; to have a book where we just tell our stories of our life separately and then together, we hoped we would encourage people to stick it out in the hard times. Which is why, with the title “Lasting Ever,” we’re saying that God can give you the power to stick it out in your faith, in times in your life that are difficult, in marriage when both of you are committed. A lot of people have a situation where somebody bails on them, and they can’t make that person commit to it, but I think when both of you are like, “Hey, we’re going to, with the power of God, really stick it out through thick and thin” — I think there’s such a beauty to that. We’re 14 years into marriage, and I think it’s so sweet to see how it gets richer and richer because you weather the hard times, and the trust goes deeper, and the love goes deeper as the trust goes deeper.

CL: And that comes out in the book, your experience of what you’re talking about. We’re here at The Salvation Army Southern Territory’s Bible Conference. You’re about to do a concert. What have your interactions been like with The Salvation Army in your life?

RSJ: The two components that for me really stand out when I think of The Salvation Army are all their centers where you can bring used clothing or you can make donations, and then it’s giving people the opportunity to work or buy things at a good price. I’ve seen that have impact, even in Australia. It’s a wonderful use of resources that then goes into people’s lives, and I just love the missional impact of The Salvation Army. I think it has such a sense of solid mission-oriented purpose being lived out in the Kingdom of God. I was telling our kids about, I was explaining a little bit about today and I was saying, “Hey, you know those people who stand outside of Kroger at Christmas, and they’re ringing the bells, and they’re taking donations, that’s Salvation Army people.” I just think that’s so wonderful, and that’s such a beautiful gift to people at Christmas. It’s the church, and it’s mission, and it’s bells at Christmas — there’s such a loveliness to what The Salvation Army does. 

CL: I grew up listening to and singing your music. I was going back through your work and came across the song “Breathe,” which for me as a young person was affecting. I can think of times going to Christian youth groups and singing that song and feeling this connection with the Lord. Now, in my family life with my kids, we’ve begun singing it together. So you’ve made an impact in my life and made an impact on millions of lives. What’s next? What’s the next thing? What’s God doing in your life and what do you see coming next?

RSJ: The conviction that my husband and I have is that we want the ministry component in our lives to come out of healthy family life, and I think that’s a really biblical idea. If there are challenges at home, especially if you’re in ministry, you know. It’s definitely a biblical thing. We make sure that even though we’re often traveling, we are traveling together as a whole family or one of my girls comes with me if it doesn’t make sense for the whole family to come out. We try to make sure our kids really feel prioritized because it’s a high goal for us that they never feel like ministry took daddy away; and we want to make sure that there’s no room for resentment. They know that God is first, then our family, and then ideally healthy ministry comes out of that. I would say that’s my primary goal: to be a dedicated wife and mom, and then to minister out of that place.

I lead worship every other month in Dallas, and then I have this weekly podcast with Focus on the Family that I co-host, and I’m just learning so much with that. Then, we have shows and events that come in like this one. Healthy no’s is another mantra for us. Is this a God appointment? Is this a right thing for our family in this season or is it not? We try to listen to the Holy Spirit on that, and my husband and I try to be a team on that. We talk every now and again about new music, but I just I think that I’m in a season right now where I just feel thankful for what we have and I don’t feel this huge push towards the next project. I think at other points in my life I’ve just been like, “Okay, on to the next thing. We just gotta go. We’re gonna go.” Now, I think there’s just a sense of being grateful for what we have as a family and in ministry and just being open handed about it. So I don’t really know what these next few years are going to look like. My husband is in film, too, so I do know that he’s going to be directing, probably I’ll be doing a bit of producing and maybe a bit of acting. But, primarily him directing so that’s really a lot of where I see us headed. We home school so we can travel with him when he’s shooting, and I love that adventure too.

Photography courtesy of Rebecca St. James