Rebecca St. James, who has long dominated Christian music, believes there's a powerful "momentum in the arts" right now when it comes to transformational Christian content. "[There is a] kind of ground that's being regained, I would say, when it comes to faith ... leading in culture," St. James told CBN News, going on to reference the success of films like "Jesus Revolution," "I Can Only Imagine," and "Unsung Hero," a movie in theaters now that tells her family's story.
More specifically, "Unsung Hero" recounts the rags-to-riches story surrounding St. James and her family, the Smallbones, (brothers Joel and Luke Smallbone are members of KING & COUNTRY), showcasing the tough, overcomer events in their lives preceding the artists' meteoric rise to fame. "Unsung Hero" pays homage to the incredible ways God worked in the family's life after they came to America with nothing, worked hard cleaning homes and doing yard work, and eventually landed record deals. The film has thus far been widely well-received.
St. James believes faith-based movies like "Unsung Hero" are attracting big audiences for a reason. "People are hungry for these messages," the singer said. "And when we show up in the theater, we say to Hollywood, 'We need more of this. We need more family content. We need more clean content. We need more God-honoring content.'" St. James said she's proud of the impact "Unsung Hero" is having, and reiterated her belief Christians need to show up and support projects like it.
"Where there's a call to action with us is, we have to vote, go on these weekends to the theater, bring your family, celebrate your moms," she said. "It's this moment in time where we can kind of say to Hollywood with our vote, with our movie ticket, 'We want more of this.'" The performer believes this is just the beginning of faith surging in Hollywood. "I feel this sense of anticipation of what God's doing and about to do, because I think there's this wave that we're going to ride," she said. "And that's very exciting to me."
To the newsmakers podcast, I'm Billie Hollowell, and this is a show where we go behind the headlines every day to bring you an interview with a pastor, entertainer, politician, or other notable news figure. And this is a show, again, it's daily, but it's based on our weekly TV show, which is also called Newsmakers. You can watch it on the CBN News channel and also on our YouTube page. And on this show, every day, we dive deep. It's a little more longer form with one of the people who you will often see on our Newsmakers show or across the CBN News platforms. On today's newsmakers, we have Rebecca St. James, and she's coming on the show to talk about what she believes Christians need to say to Hollywood right now. She'll talk about that, the influx of faith-based movies, and she'll get into unsung hero, the movie about her family's real life story, that in more now with Rebecca St. James. So the film unsung hero tells your family's story, you know, just to kind of go right out of the gate on this, what went into your decision to sort of say, you know what? We want to tell this story on the big screen. Mm-hmm. It was really my brother Luke's idea, so he's in the band for King Country. He's my little brother. He's nine years younger than me. And then Joel is my other brother who's also in the band, seven years younger. And they kind of came up with it, like really in 2020, and just felt like it was time. We had, for years, said, you know, we probably got a book here. Like I think the story is a book at least, if not a movie, and we've had a lot of people tell us they felt it was a film because it was such a dramatic time of us coming from Australia to the US, my dad losing everything, you know, us living by faith and praying and seeing God do miracles. I mean, it was a real world-changing, you know, time for our family. And it gave me a testimony, really. And so I think, you know, when they had this sense about the timing is right, the team really came together. And, you know, it's a powerful film. I can't believe that it's out now and that people are watching it, but I'm glad the story is being taught because I think it's needed for such a time as this. No, absolutely. I mean, we're in such a chaotic culture and there's so much going on, and yet this story about family and faith and trusting God. That's what we need right now. We need those big, bold stories to really remind us. And, you know, as you're watching the film, and I don't want to spoil it because I really did love the movie, you know, thinking about your part of the story, I mean, you have, I'm sure, so many memories of this time and obviously looking at your life, going onto, you know, have the notoriety that you have had and continue to have in Christian music, what's it like to reflect back on those moments of difficulty when your family was struggling, when you were watching in the midst of your dad and your mom, just going through that? What is that like to reflect on? I mean, every time I watch the film and I've probably watched it five times, I think now I cry, for sure, I mean, it's emotional, it's powerful. I mean, I think it's a cryer for most people that watch it. I mean, there's comedic moments in it, too, that kind of help some of the drama of it, you know, be more palatable in a way, but for me watching in, I think what I see is just the power of God. I see what he did in our story in that time. I see a family of eight, you know, with a baby on the way that had nothing. We had no furniture in our house who was sleeping on the floor on beds, literally made out of clothes with sheets tucked around it for a little while, no car, no income. And we prayed as a family and we saw God show up and we saw groceries on our doorstep and, you know, truckloads of furniture dropped at our house and checks come in the mail and just miracles. And so I think it is it's profoundly personal for me, that story, because it gave me a testimony. You know, I started singing just a couple of years after that full time as a 16 year old and I had something to say. I was able to say I've seen the power of God in prayer and I've seen God change my life and my family's life. So it gave me a testimony, but now that it's kind of out in the world, I mean, it just, it feels very redemptive. Yeah. Yeah. And it opens a lens into something as you were saying that's very personal. Was there any part of you that thought, Oh gosh, you know, and I'm sure you had to have conversations as a family about things you didn't want to show things you did want to show. And even with the things that are out there, was there any part of you that you were kind of like, gosh, I don't know if I want to show this or this is difficult to show. I actually intentionally didn't get involved in the script writing process outside of being interviewed for it by the writer, Richard, Richard Ramsey. And I think because it is so personal, I just didn't want to influence it at all. My dad, we thought he had watched, sorry, we thought he had read the script before he watched the movie. My mom had and she spoke into it a little bit of the three of us, but my dad, actually we just found out in the last few weeks, never read the script. Wow. Intentionally, just wanted to kind of let it be what it was meant to be. And my brother, you know, is starring in it, spoke into kind of every role of the film. It was one of the directors too. And so I think there was a lot of trust probably from the three of us that it was going to be, you know, what it needed to be. And I think it is. And there's some dramatic license in certain parts, but almost everything that people see in this movie is true, which is wild. It's not based on a true story. At the beginning of the film, it says this is a true story. Yeah, no. And that, you know, I love that you guys have that trust in your family because it can be very difficult, you know, when people don't have that, but having interviewed, and I think this is the first time you and I have actually talked, which is kind of crazy, but, you know, your brothers over the years, many times as well, you know, all of you are very faith-forward people. You trust God. And so being able to know that people in your family are doing that when it comes to a project like this, you're able to trust that you're going to follow him where he's going to lead you. And as you watch the movie, you can just see the difficulty and the challenges. And I think, again, the time that we're living in, people need to see these redemptive stories. It's so, so important, you know, and I think about your career in music, I mean, you've had a really fascinating career in music, and there was a time in your career where you stepped back and started a family. And I was just curious about that, what God sort of taught you through that decision and that season of your life personally. Honestly, I think it was a really pivotal moment for me because all I had ever known, really, and my formative years was music and being on the stage since age 13. And, you know, in those really formative years of teen life, being kind of out there, you know, on a stage in front of thousands, people very regularly. And I think for me stepping away from it a year into our marriage. So in my 30s, I was able to kind of just look at my identity and my value in a different way and go, "Wow, yeah, I don't have to perform or give something or do something to be valuable or to feel solid in my identity." It was almost like God was just saying, "Hey, I see you for who I've created you to be, and you're enough." And so it was a real formative time of just stepping back of kind of being quieter within my spirit and in my life and just owning who I am as an adult. It was really profound. And I think it set me up for, you know, five years later, coming back to it was a different perspective and a more healthy, probably perspective, yeah. Yeah, because it's not easy. I mean, I think, you know, when you are, whether it's Christian music or not or Christian book, right, whatever it is, you know, you are still in a business and it can be very difficult, I would imagine, and especially as young as you were coming into it, having that level of success, and it's a really healthy thing to actually be able to say, "You know what? I'm going to take this time and live this life and then come back into it." And as you said, in a healthier way, you know, what would you say, and I want to talk about the positives, but what are some of the challenges of music and of being in the industry just as a Christian? Then, I think, you know, not buying into kind of what people say about you in a way, or like as my dad would say and did say back in the day, because he managed me, and the film shows that. He said, "Just don't buy into your own publicity, really, because it can actually hurt you, it can become a trap, it can become a place of pride, it can become a place of selfishness that can really ruin you." And so, he wanted just this heart for God to be primary for me, and I think he really encouraged like my heart to be protected in that way from, you know, just becoming about the trappings of this world. I think the enemy, all of us, is like trying to tempt us into thinking about things, and money, and power, and fame are what we want, and it's such a trap. I mean, Proverbs is so full of warnings about not buying into these kind of things, and the New Testament to you, and so, yeah, these are the things that I think I'm so thankful that I had my family kind of speaking into you, and I had, you know, six siblings around me, and my parents on the road was me just kind of helping there to be the sense of home that came with, and the sense of solidness that was outside of what everyone was saying about me at that point. It was like what they, their support and their encouragement was what mattered and helped me stay grounded, along with, you know, my relationship with Jesus, and I'm thankful for that protection. Yeah, and, you know, you look at all the positives too that come along with being able to be a voice and have a voice and point people to the Lord. I would imagine that has been incredible, and you have this film now where you're getting to do that in a different way. What is your hope for that? Yeah. Well, I mean, it's wild because, yeah, you know, you alluded to some of the painful side of it, and there was some loneliness in those years, too, right? I longed to be married, and I didn't end up getting to meet my husband until I was in my early 30s, and getting married then, and then starting to have children in my mid-30s, and we have three kids, and I'm, like, so grateful. I mean, I'm living my dreams, honestly, now, and then the film even says that at the end of the film, I say to my mom, like, from side to stage, like, "You're my hero. You're who I want to be like. I've wanted my whole life to be a wife and a mom and that high calling that you've had on your life." But honestly, it feels very redemptive, like, I just, I feel, in my own story, what God is doing right now is bringing kind of fulfillment to things that He's put in my heart, both on a personal level and a ministry level, and it just feels super-redemptive. And I think what I pray is that when people walk away from the film that they feel encouraged in marriage, in parenting, and in faith, and I think a lot of people are discouraged in family life and in faith life, and I think if people can walk away and go, "Wow, Lord, I want to follow after you. I want to embrace this adventure that is the Christian life, and I want to love my family well." If people can walk away with being encouraged in that way, then this is a win. Yeah. Now, that's incredible. And, you know, I think story is the way you do that, you know, telling stories in this way, getting to see a real life story of a family that struggled who had faith, who then had to cling even deeper into their faith, and watching the result of that at a time when there is, I mean, the desperation your family was experiencing, there are all sorts of other forms of desperation that we're watching all around us right now, a culture really hungry and thirsty for something true and real. And that's why we're seeing these baptisms, right, these mass baptisms, all of this activity. And this feels like another piece of that puzzle that can really help, you know, draw people into the Lord. Yeah. And I think there is this kind of momentum in the arts that is kind of ground that's being regained, I would say, when it comes to faith kind of leading in culture. And I think of Jesus' revolution and how strong that was. I think I can only imagine. I think of how this film, you know, people are coming out, like, oh, to see the film and drugs. I mean, it was beautiful. It was at a theater and there was 14 different screenings of the film, and each one of them was full. And so I think people are hungry for these messages, and when we show up in the theater, we say to Hollywood, we need more of this. We need more family content. We need more clean content. We need more God-honoring content. We want this. And so it's a very exciting day, like seeing what God is doing, I think, in the arts and us as Christians reclaiming that and doing it with excellence. I'm proud of this movie, it's at a high level of excellence, but it's got, it's at a high level of heart and soul and message as well. Yeah, no. And that's so important, and I think these industries are getting stronger and better, too. You know, the Christian industry is sort of merging into Hollywood, and it's great to see because we need, we need that. You know, we had, we had Candace Cameron-Brayon, who obviously is in the film and executive produces it. Yeah. And she was, we were asking her, and I love to get you. It's a great year take on this before we go, but we were saying, look, you know, we're watching a lot of people in Hollywood find Jesus or at least talk about Jesus. There's this interest level that we're watching in the culture, but also in Hollywood. And I'd love for you to just reflect on that, what that's sort of been like to see, because it feels like every day some other actor or singer is talking about Jesus. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it is really exciting. And I think I've had a front row seat really with this partnership between Kingdom Pictures and Alliance Gate, who put out on Song Hero and Jesus Revolution, and I can only imagine in films like this that have just had tremendous traction. But I think these big studios are going, wow, there's this massive amount of people in the US that is hungry for this and it works, and we've got to feed into this. So I think where there's a call to action with us is we have to vote, you know, go on these weekends to the theater, bring your family, celebrate your moms, you know, it's like this film is out right before Mother's Day, like bring your mom and say, thank you mom for all that you poured into my life. You're an unsung hero. It's this moment in time where we can kind of say to Hollywood with our vote, with our movie ticket, we want more of this. And I just can't wait, like I feel this sense of anticipation of what God's doing and about to do, because I think there's this wave that we're going to ride coming up. And I think Candice sees it. I think Kingdom Pictures sees that Lionsgate sees it of more of this kind of content. And that's very exciting to me. Absolutely. Absolutely. God reaching people in these arenas where there's so much power and we really haven't been as present as we need to be Christian. So to be able to be there is incredible. Thank you so much for joining us today and taking the time. That's my pleasure. That's all for today's Newsmakers podcast. Be sure to tune in for the next episode of the show and also head over to the CBN News YouTube channel and the CBN News channel to watch Newsmakers every week. We'll see you soon. [Music] [Music] [BLANK_AUDIO]
