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REBECCA
ST. JAMES:
Faithful Purity
an interview w/ The Fish's Bruce Ladson
photos courtesy of
www.rsjames.com Copyright 2003 RSJ LLC
The
Fish:
Purity is a central theme of your ministry. Was there one
defining moment in your life where you knew God was calling
you to emphasize purity?
St.
James:
There was a defining moment when I was 15 or 16. I was at
a True Love Waits rally in Peoria, Illinois and I was
actually part of the program. I was singing at the conference.
It was very much focused on purity.
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I
had heard of the importance of staying pure. I grew up in
a Christian family so it was expected, but I hadn't specifically
thought about making a commitment or putting a ring on my
finger that signified that commitment. At the rally I was
seeing a couple hundred young people went forward and making
commitments to wait. I think as I got older, too, I began
to see just how much pressure there is on teens to compromise
in that area. So, I began speaking about purity at different
events and I was asked to do True Love Waits rallies.
The organizers would say, "Why don't you mention a couple
of things about the fact that you're waiting." So, it
became a natural thing because I got such a good response
from it...teens saying "thank you for being another teenager
out there that's waiting...its so great knowing we're not
alone." It became a powerful thing...a young person being
able to speak to other young people about this issue. Later
on there was a song and a book and I've continued to speak
about it. Its a need that people have today to hear about
God's way because the other way is being promoted so much.
The
Fish:
Going back even further than your personal commitment to
purity, tell me about your personal commitment to God. How
did you become a Christian?
St.
James:
It was actually at my church when I was 8 years old in Sydney,
Australia. I had grown up in a Christian family, but my parents
had always been very up front about the fact that just because
they were Christians didn't make me a Christian.
I
had to decide for myself whether or not I was going to follow
Jesus. That stayed in the back of my mind even as a youngster,
six or seven years old, it was something that I had been thinking
about. If I was going to become a Christian, I'm going to
have to decide for myself.
When
I was eight, I was at a Girl's Brigade meeting, which is like
a Christian Girl Scouts, they had a time of commitment where
they asked young people to give their lives to God. I really
felt God's tug on my heart to make that commitment, so I did
and that was the beginning of the Great Adventure for me.
The
Fish: Tell me about the Hero Tour with Michael Tait and
Mark Stuart of Audio Adrenaline.
St.
James:
The Hero Tour was amazing! I loved it! I smile a big
massive smile just talking about it. It was a real dream come
true for me because ever since I was 5 or 6, I wanted to be
in a musical. So, it was a real fulfillment of a dream. Michael
[Tait] was playing the role of Jesus, I was playing Mary Magdalene/The
Woman at the Well and Mark [Stuart] was playing Peter. The
unity between the artists on the tour and just the sense of
God being at work through that production was really awesome.
It was very high tech. We had big movie screens behind us
showing images that related to every scene that we were in
or whatever song we were doing. It was mostly songs since
it's a rock opera. The crowds really responded and God moved,
so we're excited to do it again in April and May.
The
Fish:
Sounds great! Now, tell us how we can be praying for you?
St.
James:
Thank you. Well, you come into NewYear's and each one of us
thinks about things we want to change in our lives. One of
the goals in my life is that I never want to stay static in
my walk with God. I want to be moving forward. I want to go
deeper in God and come to know Him in a fresh, powerful way.
So, that's a real desire of my heart. But also, there are
a lot of opportunities that God is opening right now. I just
want to know what His will is...which direction to take...what
area to focus on with my books, music, and now there might
be some acting opportunities as well. I just really want to
be led by God in these areas and go the path that He has planned
for me. So, praying for direction is something I'll be praying
for and would love other people's prayers for as well.
The
Fish:
You've got our prayers, Rebecca! Finally, can you give
us some insight as to where you are going in life? Where do
you see yourself in 5-10 years?
St.
James:
Oh, wow! Well, hopefully married.I've always wanted to have
a large family, so maybe a couple years after being married
a child would be a great addition to my life. So, that's something
that I've really committed to God. I'm not rushing into anything
or trying to force God's hand in that area, but I would really
love to have a family at some stage.
The
Fish:
Great! Thanks for your time Rebecca! God bless you and
your ministry.
St.
James:
Thank you so much, Bruce! Good talking to you.
Pictures
courtesy of www.rsjames.com
Copywright 2003 RSJ LLC
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JOY
WILLIAMS:
Passion for Jesus!
an interview w/ The Fish's Bruce Ladson
The
Fish: We hear that a lot of good stuff is going
on with you.
JOY:
A lot of good stuff IS going on with me. (laughs)
The
Fish: Let's start off at the beginning, and
then we'll talk about upcoming events in your life. Why
don't you kick things off by telling us how you became a
Christian.
JOY:
Yeah, I would love to tell you how I came to the realization
of the wonderment of Jesus. (laughs again) I grew up in
a pastor's family. Actually my dad was and still is to this
day an executive director of Christian camps, as well as
being an ordained minister. So, I grew up at a Christian
camp. I really felt like I was born underneath a pew, but
at the same time...what a wonderful thing. At the age of
4, my older sister Sara, told me about Jesus and what He
did and who He was. That's it! At 4 I knew I needed Jesus.
So, I gave my life to Christ at 4, but sad to say I don't
think I really pursued a relationship individually with
Christ until around junior high. Its really easy when you
grow up in church to ride the coattails of family, Awanas
club, and Vacation Bible School (VBS). Around the
age of 14, I realized I needed to take off that adoptive
coat. The way I came to that realization was that I was
in school studying world religions. Growing up in California
for most of my life, there are a lot of different religions,
especially in northern California like New Age and Zen and
all kinds of other things. I had friends who believed in
those things and I didn't know how to explain the difference
about Christ, which there is such a huge difference. I realized
I lacked education about the things of God which led me
to believe that I didn't have a whole lot stored up in my
heart.
While my commitment to Christ was genuine, and God's Spirit
was inside me because I was marked by the blood of Christ
when I gave Him my soul at age 4, but I wanted to know Him
more and I wanted to have a relationship with Him in a far
deeper way. So I studied several different religions and
I said, "Lord, I want you to leap off the page when
I study." He really did. He answered my prayer in a
lot of ways. It is mind-blowing to wrap my head around the
concept of grace, which you can't find in any other religion
or "ism" as I call it. Christianity isn't just
a religion...it is a person who is real and alive and who
loves me in spite of my stubborness and my selfishness and
my inability to understand who Christ is, yet He holds his
hand out to us everyday so He can draw us in as His children
and hold us and walk with us as we're in the process. Its
been a great journey, and one that's been hard and challenging,
but at the same time, I am so thankful that Jesus doesn't
give up on me when sometimes I doubt Him.
The
Fish: There is a tremendous passion for Christ
in your words. How do you maintain that intimacy with God?
How does it become a passion for you?
JOY:
Wow! That's a great question. Its actually a question I
still ask myself often. You know this, too, but there are
days that cracking open the Bible like you do every morning
gets old and sometimes you don't want to pray. I get stubborn
sometimes when I get frustrated or feel overwhelmed. I don't
know why, but the flesh in me rises up and it says, "Don't
pray. Just go. Do what you need to do. Move on." I've
found that when I do that, I put myself in more of a hole
than when I just sit, humble myself, and say, "God,
I'm angry with you", "God, I'm tired today",
"God, I love you but I don't how to sometimes",
or "God, I made a bad decision and I'm feeling guilty
about it. I need your grace." I think the thing that
has really helped me maintain that passion is a constant
craving for His Word which comes with creating habits. In
the morning, I get up and I read. That's just what I do.
If I have a 7:00 flight in the morning, I get up at 4:30
so I can read. Creating the habit makes me miss it when
I don't do it and I realize how differently my days go when
I don't have the Word of God to start my day. Prayer works.
I say to God, "The pressure is on you. (laughs) I need
you to change me and I want to be changed, but I can't do
it in my own strength. So, please change me."
I
think mentoring has also been really imperative in my life
in the regular ways of the day...just being reminded of
good ways to go about making decisions by wise women who
have walked places I haven't been and who know more about
life than I do. I will not begin to pretend that I know
anything about life and its complexities because I'm only
21.
I
would say that a vulnerability before Christ always, a diligence
in reading the Word, and bare-bones mentoring...where you're
not saving face, but you're getting on your face...those
are the things that have helped me maintain my walk with
Christ.
The
Fish: With your obvious passion for the Lord,
what can people expect when they attend a Joy Williams concert?
JOY:
I love to relate. I love to communicate with people. Christ
did it so well, and it just fascinates me! One of the ways
I saw that I could communicate was through music. I get
to sing. Its just me up on the stage talking about life.
I would be doing the same thing if I was sitting across
the table from a friend at Starbucks over lattes and mochas.
Just talking about life and what I've learned in the few
years that I've been on this planet and the struggles that
I go through and the way that Christ has become real through
those experiences. Yes, the music is important to me, but
at the end of the day I could leave the trucks, the lights,
and the fancy sounds behind because the message of Christ
still stands. I love to laugh, so I can tell you all the
stupid things I've done in my lifetime. God's made me giggle
at myself sometimes and at how beautiful grace can be. So,
hopefully I am able to share the message of Christ in a
realistic way.
The
Fish: You have a new album coming out soon.
JOY:
Coming out in July!
The
Fish: Can you share about what we can expect
from this album?
JOY:
I'm really excited about this new album. I'm taking bigger
steps musically and lyrically. Vocally we are expanding,
too. Its going to be a bit more organic. We're going to
have a little bit more rock in there, but we won't totally
leave behind what we've done. We'll be working hard at making
these lyrics reality-based and Christ-based. I'm excited
about the way this is coming about. We're in and out of
the studio even as we speak.
The
Fish: Now, we've heard that something else
is coming up this June. Can you tell us about that?
JOY:
I'm getting married!!! Woo-hoo!
The
Fish: Congratulations! So, who is this guy?
JOY:
His name is Nate (Yetton). He works at Inpop Records
in Nashville and he's the director of radio promotions over
there. I've known him for over a year and he is my BEST
friend. I can laugh with him, burp with him and we can watch
football together and cry together. Life just works when
I am with him. He exhibits and extends to me an incredible
example of Christ's love to me day in and day out that I
can't help but want to marry the man.
The
Fish: Well, congratulations again. We'll pray
that God will bless your new life together with Nate and
that God will continue to work through your ministry.
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