WHOA That's Good Podcast - Why Dads Saying 'I'm Sorry' Is SO Powerful | Sadie Rob Huff | for KING & COUNTRY | Rebecca St. James

Episode Date: April 24, 2024

Bringing your family's story to the big-screen is something Sadie is all too familiar with and she's delighted to host Joel and Luke Smallbone (for KING & COUNTRY) and their sister Rebecca St. James in the studio for a very special conversation about their new movie, "Unsung Hero." Joel directed and starred in the film — playing his dad! — but he shares why it was so important to not shy away from the hard parts of his dad's story. Sadie points out why seeing a dad say they're "sorry" to their child is so powerful. Rebecca says we should all trust God to redeem our stories, no matter what we've experienced or gone through! And Luke remembers his mom often telling him that learning to overcome disappointment is a good thing, especially true for kids! Buy your tickets to see "Unsung Hero" in theaters here: https://unsunghero.movie/ This episode of Whoa That's Good is sponsored by: https://liberty.edu/Sadie — Get your application fee WAIVED when you start your future with Liberty University today! https://www.trymiracle.com/whoa — Get 40% off + 3 FREE towels with code WHOA at checkout! https://give.cru.org/good or text GOOD to 71326 — Get a free copy of Sadie and Christian's new book "How to Put Love First" with your monthly gift! - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What's up everybody? Happy Wednesday. I hope that you're having a great week, but per usual, friends, it is about to get so much better because I actually have the most incredible guests in the house today. This is so rare that I get to do interviews in person and we have three of the best people on the couch. We have Rebecca St. James and her brothers, the Forking and the Country. Just kidding. We have Joel and Luke here. Welcome to the podcast space, guys. Thank you, Sadie.

Yes, this is a joy. We have to recognize that last time we did a podcast, we were in like three separate locations. I think we were, when was it? Was it three years ago? It was a little while ago, and you guys were in different locations, and none of our wifi was good.

My wifi particularly. I think particularly Joel's. I was so frustrated. So I apologize, but we're here now. We were like, we can't do this again, so we're gonna fly down to be with you, Sadie. Well, it was funny because they're like, hey, for King Country, they just had a movie come out,

which we're going to talk all about. And they were like, we should have them back on the podcast. I was like, yes, but this time, it has to be either good Wi-Fi or in person. Because the conversation was great, but man, that Wi-Fi was getting the message. I just remember one time for like five minutes, I went on a whole spiel. And nobody heard me. And then I finished. I was like, oh man, that wifi was getting the message. I just remember one time for like five minutes, I went on a whole spiel.

And nobody heard that. And then I finished, and I was like, oh, that was really great. And they were like, yeah, we just didn't get. Joel was like, Joel thought it was so good because there was silence on the other hand, because he was like, they're being so reverent about my- It was a mic drop.

Yeah, and then he realized the disc- He was like, that was gold, and it's lost. It was not a mic drop, it was an internet drop. But today, there will be no internet, there will be none of that. Today we got full smooth sailing ahead and I'm so excited to chat with you guys. So like I just mentioned, they have a new movie out, The Unsung Hero, comes out April 26th everywhere in theaters, which y'all, that's like no small thing. That is huge.

Is that crazy to you all right now? I said to someone the other day, I don't think there's a lot of reality to it. Surreal was the word that we use, not only because it's a film, but it's a film that really circles around our parents. And you know a little bit about grandparents and parents being depicted in a movie. It's a film that circles around our mom. You know a little bit about being a mom. And it's a film that circles around the 90s You know a little bit about being a mom. And it's a film that circles around the 90s and 90s music and miracles and community and church. And so it's the definition of a passion project for us.

There's not a lot of, I'm not sure there will be and maybe until it's actually in the theaters and we go and see it. Not a lot of reality too. Yeah. Maybe the premiere night. I think it might actually connect in Nashville. Yeah, sink in.

Well, yeah, that will definitely be. And watching it with friends and family and everyone. Because especially with the blind with my family, maybe you watch it so many times at home, but then whenever you see it in a big screen mode with your family, I remember for me, I'm watching it. And I'd seen it, so I wasn't getting emotional until literally the credits hit and they were showing

the real life pictures. And then I start crying because I was like, oh my gosh, God, you're so good. This is real and this is really our family. Mom was exactly the same way. Really? She watched it. We did a rough cut and before we finished editing, we got the whole family together. We played it. It was the epilogue. And it was the epilogue. It was when the film reality met reality.

Reality. Reality. And it sort of blew her. That's what got me. Yeah, it was just really cool. And it was cool because I'm sitting in this room with all friends and family, and these are people that my grandparents truly have impacted their lives. We are all personally impacted by this story.

And then I'm thinking, oh my gosh, so many thousands if not, millions of people will see this movie and they will be impacted by the story that I've been so deeply impacted by. And I was just like, that was just crazy. And that's what your family is experiencing and going through.

So I just wanna hear the story because I just got to watch the story. I got lucky, I got to watch it before. But I know, I'm so special. You're so special, Sadie, yes. And we wanna shout out to Christian. Oh, special. We to shout out to Christian too for watching the little ones.

He did. Why else do you watch the movie? Someone's gotta do it. I think they did watch Shrek. He was the unsung hero of last night. He was watching Shrek with honey. I got to watch the movie. I love it.

Yeah, someone had to do it. It's a good dad. He's a great dad and I got to watch it and it's truly incredible. But for those who are listening, I want to draw them into the story of your family's life because that is what the movie is about. And so can you just paint the picture,

either one of you paint the picture a little bit on when in this story we kind of are jumping into in the movie. Yeah, so my dad, father of all of us actually, our dad was a concert promoter in Australia and on one particular tour that he brought back to Australia, the tour didn't go very well and we ended up losing everything that we had as a family. We lost the house, the car, the life savings and so my dad was looking for a fresh

start for his career, for the family and he got a job offer in Nashville, Tennessee and he thought it would be a good idea to move his six kids and his wife, who is six months pregnant. And 16 suitcases. At the time, yeah, 16 suitcases. And I have to say too, because everyone here is wanting to move to Nashville, but y'all lived in Australia.

So it's not just like, oh, I'm gonna move to Nashville from Louisiana. Seven thousand miles. You're moving to Nashville, seven thousand miles with six kids. Yeah, and I think a lot of people also think that, oh, well, it can't be that much culture shock, because you guys are speaking English in Australia, and that, oh, well, this can't be that much culture shock, because you guys speak English in Australia.

And that is true. No, we speak Australian. Very, very different place, Australia and America. So we come, and as soon as we arrive in Nashville, my dad actually loses that job. And so Australia, on the other side of the world, no friends, no family, sleeping on beds, made out of clothes, didn't have any way for our little sister

to be born in a hospital. Weren't always quite sure where the next meal was going to come from, didn't have a car. So we didn't know what else to do other than just gather around as a family, just start praying for these essential things. Most of the movie centers around what takes place with those prayers and what takes place for the rest of that time and that period of time in the early 90s. And I've shared that story pretty much every for King and Country show for the last 11 or 12 years.

And I've had a lot of people come up and say, man, Luke, you guys should write a book. The truth is Joel and I were homeschooled. We don't read or write very well. Shout out to the homeschoolers. And so we thought we'll make a movie. I was not homeschooled, but the last year's a high school. Oh, that's why she's not socially awkward.

I did a little part-time homeschool, so yeah, I can't claim it. There you go. I can't claim it. But anyway, so we thought, well, maybe we can make a movie instead. And so the real heartbeat behind the movie is I believe in the power of family. I think that family is more powerful today than it ever has been in the history of the world.

But yeah, we don't necessarily value it as we should. And Mother Teresa says- Hang on, hang on. there is a Mother Teresa quote, but it's at the end of the movie, Sadie. That's right. Hey, I told him this, cause he said, did you fall asleep watching the movie? I said, I absolutely did not, and I can prove it.

I only said that. I said, the last thing that happened, the screen goes blank, and it says, if you want to change the world, go home and love your family. It wrecks you, doesn't it? It does. You're just at the end, you're like, oh. It does, and what was so cool is my mom actually has

that quote above her mirror in her bathroom, and I've always seen it, and it stuck out to me because I'm like, I see my mom do that. Like my mom, I feel like my mom truly does change the world because the things she does are touching the world. Like she does big things. But the most like significant thing I've seen her do is to love her family.

The way she's loved my dad, and the way that my dad's loved her too, of course, but just seeing my mom and highlighting her for a second. And then the way she's loved all of her kids. So there's six of us, and we are all so different. But she loved us all with equal amount of love, but individually, in personal relationship with each of us. And anyways, I said to say, it changed us and now we're going

and we're changing our families and the world around us. And so I've just always seen that quote to be true in our family's life. So when I saw that at the end of y'all's movie, I was like, would you look at that? That is the coolest thing. Well, and I love too that this film's coming out right before Mother's Day,

because I think it's a real opportunity for people to bring their moms to it and just have that special moment and just say, thanks mom, you're an unsung hero in my life. And for all the diapers you changed and all the meals and all the love, like just thank you. So I think that's real special too, because the film is called Unsung Hero.

It's honoring our mom, it's honoring moms, it's honoring God, it's a real faith story. And I think for people too that are struggling in their faith, or just struggling in their family life, or in marriage, or in any relationship, it's inspiring and it's encouraging, and it's showing that you can ride some big storms in your life and see God redeem your pain.

So true, it beautifully displays that. And I was saying this to them before this started, but I'll share it with you all too, because not actually any of y'all know this. Besides I've mentioned it here and there that my youngest daughter, Haven, has urinary reflux, which is so random, but as I've shared it at different times,

people have said like, oh my gosh, Mike, it has that, or I had that. So I realized it's actually more common than you would think. Anyways, we have had several hospital visits and we just had another one last week and each time we were in the hospital, we had to be there for three days.

And it's become this thing. With your baby, which is heartbreaking. And then my two year old's always bummed that we're at me and Haven are in the hospital so she's staying home with dad. And so anyways, when she comes to the hospital, I always make it really fun. We do something really fun.

It's just, I try to create this moment. Go to the cafeteria maybe? Yeah, I try to create this moment where it's like, okay, we're in an unfortunate situation, but let's make the most of it so this isn't a bad memory or it's like, okay, we're in an unfortunate situation, but let's make the most of it so this isn't a bad memory or it's a good memory, you know? And so last week when we were at the hospital,

they had these VHS tapes and they had the princess ones. I was like, honey, I cannot wait for you to hear. We have a movie night. And so she came, we did a movie night. It was fun. And when I was watching the movie, I was watching your mom make a really, really hard situation, bring joy in the midst of that.

And there's a particular scene where you really kind of hint at your song. I like how you're trying to avoid the spoilers. I am trying to. Don't worry, sir. Don't worry, sir. I'm not going to spoil it, but there is a particular moment that your mom made the most out of a really unfortunate situation.

Looking back, thinking back, do y'all really remember the fun things in the midst of the hardest times? You know, it really is amazing how much we can do online these days, I mean, you can pretty much do anything. You can find all kinds of fun things to do. There's incredible, awesome things to do, but one thing that you can do that is really cool is get a diploma from Liberty University. With more than 600 online degrees to choose from, you'll definitely find something that

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I actually got to take some online classes from Liberty too and loved it, it was so awesome. I chose Liberty simply because my family had already been to Liberty, so I'd gotten to be a part of seeing how amazing this school is and just what they stand for. And I heard about how flexible their online hours are because you really set your login times and that's why it was doable for me. And it was great.

It was such a cool experience and I hope to do more in the future. So y'all go check it out. Visit liberty.edu slash Sadie to learn more about these great online options today. And because you're a Well That's Good podcast listener, you'll actually get your application fee waived. So don't wait, go to liberty.edu slash Sadie now and get started on your future goals today. It might be different depending on who you talk to. Yeah. I was 14.

Because Beck was 14 and facing a whole different world. That's different, yeah. And she's the oldest and she was stepping into music and sort of in many ways in the end, as the film somewhat depicts, allowing our family to get out of poverty really in many ways. But for Luke and me and some of the younger kids,

we were like five and seven. And so it was an adventure. Like I don't even think we really clocked how poor we really were. I don't think we did. I don't think I did either. Yeah. I remember little things like, because this is the era of pay phones, right? So I remember checking pay phones for coins, partly because it was just fun to find money.

But when you did find a quarter or something, I remember going to mom and dad and offering it to them. Or when we did, we'd rake leaves and we'd mow lawns and Beck and mom cleaned houses and it would all go back into the family fund. And it was an adventure. I remember mom, because we could never play cricket in the house. You know cricket is growing up in Australia. We could never play cricket in the house in Australia. I love that. But because there was no furniture in our house, it became a cricket pitch. She really was great at making difficult circumstances.

A lot of fun. And I think it's interesting that you talk about moments of realizing whether or not we clocked that we were as poor as we were or not. But I will say, as a young man, there was one story that I was like, maybe things aren't going exactly super great for my dad, was my dad had picked up some work bush hogging, mowing fields with a big tractor. He had to go pick up the check. We went to the gas station to get us to enough- The petrol station.

Yeah, petrol station, to get enough fuel to go pick up the check. And I remember going there, and Dad was going through all his pockets, and he picked up all the change that he could. And we got to $0.93. And he walked inside, paid the guy for $0.93. I got kind of chuckled about it, and then went and picked up the check that probably got us through the next week.

And that was like, oh, I don't think I've ever spent 93 cents at the gas station before. Yeah. You had those moments where you're like, OK, this is our reality. And I think I always say this about being a mom, one of the things that you can get really good at when you're in hard things or different things is rebranding situations. I always say it's all about the rebrand. Rebranding. And so my little honey, this is not a hard situation,

but she's just picky. She's a picky eater. And so I always make sure my branding is really good when I present to her food. But it's not what it looks like. I'm not like the, oh, cut my carrots in a heart, which awesome, go you if you're doing that. I don't do that.

But I'm like, do you see how vibrant this orange is? Oh my gosh, this is like the prettiest. Does she fall for it hook line and sink? No, but she does sometimes. And it's all about the branding. And then she's so excited. Or if you're saying like, do you know that princesses eat this?

And that's why they're like so, you know, and then she's like, oh my gosh, this is the coolest thing ever. And so it's all about the rebrand sometimes. And your mom is good at branding it. It's like, okay, yeah, we don't have furniture, but did you know that that means we can play cricket in the house?

And all the kids are like, heck yes, this is awesome. Always sleeping on beds mad out of clothes. And she's like, but these are adventure beds. Like pirates. She's like, but you have your whole life to do that later. But like now, so I do think like just for parents out there, you know, if you're in an unfortunate situation, you don't even have to be parents. there, you know, if you're in an unfortunate situation, you don't have to be parents just in whatever situation of life you're in.

Sometimes it is about how you talk about it that shapes and frames your experience in it, truly. Which I was going to say, there's one scene that is really emotional and I won't give the whole thing away. Again, I'm going to get at the spoilers. I'm going to get you to the point where you have to go see the movie. I could see your brain just like, how do I say this without? I know, I'm like, how do I get to it? You can give a couple spoilers. Okay, there's a moment.

There's a moment where up until this point, everyone had been careful with what they were saying, the words they were saying, how they were framing it. Then there's a moment with you outside with your parents and your dad is hurting himself and he speaks words that hurt you. And so there are moments where I think in our life where when we're hurting,

it's hard not to hurt other people. It's hard not to say things that leave scars on other people. Was that a real moment that you do remember going through and how'd you kind of get past that hardship and make it something beautiful? Well, there is a scene and it's wild because Joel's playing our dad, which is just wild.

And he did an amazing job. We haven't even mentioned that yet. Yeah, I mean, he did an amazing job. Some people don't even know that it's him because he looks so different. Speaking of Beck, this is a whole other moment. I don't know if I've told you this yet, Beck, but we didn't find our Helen, the actress,

to play mom until like 10 days before production, like down to the wire. Wow. And the way we found it is we went through a list of 100 Australian actresses, because we felt like she genuinely needed to be Australian, she genuinely needed to be a mum. And Rebecca's actually on that list

of Australian actresses as well. So we were like, could she make? No! No, let's not do that. It's super old testament. Let's leave that off. No. That is hilarious.

But I did play that. OK, let's circle back to that after, because I actually want to talk about the process of casting. She just put you in your place, by the way. Yeah, she did. No. Well done. No, because I mean, I genuinely wanted to talk about that.

Do you want me to move over to the timeout couch? Joel, you can step away from me. This is Rebecca's moment. Your brother's coffee's out there. I'll go out and be with him. Let Rebecca out this moment. It's interesting, because I think in the film, what Dad was going through in real life all those years ago,

internally, is shown on the external with how Joel played our dad. So he was angry, and he was upset and he's like throwing a fax machine at some point. And like it's very exterior. But I think it was interior what he was going through at that time. And so I think we had some harder conversations probably

later in life, dad and I, because he's manager. I'm daughter. That's a difficult dynamic to work with your parents, I think, especially as a father-daughter. But I mean, we've had grace for each other that life isn't always easy and you sometimes just got to say sorry. I think one of the more powerful moments in the film is actually where Joel, as my dad, is saying to me, I'm sorry. And kind of I'm into that. And it's really powerful and it's really redemptive

because somebody asked me just recently, like what marriage advice would you give? I think it was on a podcast that we were doing altogether actually about marriage or the same day that we were doing that podcast. And they said, what advice would you give? And I said, say sorry quickly. Be quick to own your own thing.

Even if there's something that's happened and you feel like you've done a little bit but the other person has done a lot. Even if that's the case, own to something and show humility and be the first to reach out in marriage and say, I'm sorry. And so I think that's a really powerful, powerful scene. So I think we've tried to not let things fester in our relationship, my dad and I, I think tried to talk through things.

They work with dad too. So it's a powerful dynamic working with family, but it can be tricky as well. But I think forgiveness. Super messy. Messy. But I think offering grace, believing the best, and then being quick to say sorry really helps navigate that. Gosh, I noticed that in the movie when your dad said, I'm sorry for that. Because I think that especially as men, those softer moments,

you don't necessarily, you don't love to say you're sorry. I know some of my dad has like actually said that is very hard for me to do. And there have been moments in our relationship where I'm like, I, you know, I just told you to wait for a second, I didn't mean to do that, but I can be a little strong. And so I was telling my dad one time, I was like,

just tell me you're sorry, just say it, you know? I was like, and I remember having that conversation with dad, I was like, if you just say it, then this is over. You know? You can say sorry too. And so here's my way to tell you I'm sorry for telling you that. Thank you so much. But I say that to say, me and my dad have had these conversations and it is important. And I think to, and some people listening, like you might be waiting on that moment and I'm not saying that

you have to have that moment because maybe that sorry isn't going to come. And we can forgive without the sorry. And you can. And we should too, even if we don't get it. And I actually think in this scenario with my dad, I had already, and that's even how we were able to have a conversation that was so open to say, hey, I'm really over this. But at the same time, it would mean a lot to me if we can talk about it. And so that was, I think, even to get to that conversation with my dad, it shows that it was already good, that we had a relationship enough to have it. Yes, 100%.

But I say that to say that was such a powerful moment in the movie, and I love that. There's a quote that you said as your dad in the movie, and I'm sorry, here's the thing. My brain remembers everything when I watch movies movies and I could replay a whole scene. But you are talking to your dad, I guess it would be your grandfather. And he said, is that the scene when he says, your family is not in the way, your family is the way. And it's such a powerful moment

because I think in this day and age, there is this trend to not start a family, because that would be in the way of like my career or my thing or whatever, not get married. And so there's like this waiting thing because that would be in the way. And I think a lot of people ask me on Christian like, oh, you got married young, you have kids,

or do you feel like that's stealing from your life? I'm like, no, like that's added so much to our life. Like, and people say, oh, wow, you got pregnant so fast, you wish you would have waited? No, because honey is honey. And people say, oh, wow, you all got pregnant so fast, you wish you would have waited? No, because honey is honey. And that timing was beautiful, because that's when it was. And so I love that quote. In y'all's story, it was for a specific reason,

but I think just on a broader scale too. I think people do sometimes think that, but family is like the greatest gift. And so anyways, I love that y'all portrayed that the whole scene. So now let's circle back, Joel, to the moment of deciding that you were going to play your dad. Did you always want to do that as you thought

about doing this movie? Was that like in mind? In your dreams as a little boy, Joel. Did you dream to play dad in a movie? I will say this, before we get to that, Sadie, let me say something. OK, put me in that place. You know, what I love about this, before we get to that, Sadie, let me say something. Put it in your life, please. No, no.

You know, what I love about this is, yes, it is certainly a family affair. There is a lot of weighty moments in the film. But part of what I love too, speaking of us approaching it like kids, it was really fun to approach this film as an adventure film. Kind of like what you were talking about at the hospitals. Like you find yourself in these moments, you move continents in this case, and yet it was this great adventure.

And so even as you, you know, you listen to this podcast, I think one of the things that we're finding people take away from it is it's a 90s film, it's an adventure film, it's a film that celebrates moms. It's a film that- And it's fun too, there's comedy in it. It is fun, it's it. Yeah, it helps lighten up some of the drama.

The clash of Australia and America and music. I just love the music in it. What was that? You said like, oh heaps or something at one point. Thanks heaps. Thanks heaps. I was like, what is that? Is that an Australian thing?

Thanks a lot. That's a Beckism. Thanks heaps. Thank you. I like that. No, it was so much fun. Now he's gonna go around Louisiana and be like, thanks heaps. Thanks a lot. No, there was so much fun. Now he's going to go around Louisiana and be like, thanks, hey.

Thanks, hey. That sounds good. Yeah, no, you know, and it's a 90s, it's a musical film as well. It's not a musical, but it's got so many cool like Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant. Striper. Striper and Seal and Jesus Jones and Rod Stewart, Lenny Kravitz. So it's a nostalgic piece. Some of you might know that Christian and I just built a house. We were able to move in last November and we love it.

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produce the film. It was really Luke's brainchild to make the film. And from the moment he'd sort of mentioned it, it was just that it was always something in my mind. I was like, yeah, this is, I've done a little bit of acting in the past, but part of what you try to do with actors is you try to create the shortest bridge

from reality to the screen. And so what shorter bridge is there than someone who studied, you know, my dad for the better part of 40 years and has worked with, I've worked with dad, I've really realized this the other day, I said it to him, I've worked with our dad more than anyone in his life or my life. Because I worked with him with you and then we worked at a record label together and then we started this band for King Country together. And so it

actually just always felt kind of destined for me to step into that. His shoes. Well, you did such a great job because I've known you guys for so long. Like, I don't know if y'all even remember this, but my very first LO event ever, I think eight years ago or nine, nine years ago, the special guest was y'all. The king and the country. The king and the country, which was so kind because that was my first thing to, my first event to ever do.

And you know, that was before I even started speaking or preaching. I was still even wrestling with, can I even do that? I grew up church with Christ and I'd never even seen that before. So that night I did skits, you know, I did monologues because I didn't know I could like, I didn't know if I should preach.

And so, yeah, so I was figuring it out and then you guys were there. And so I've known y'all for so long. So of course, whenever I saw you on the screen, I'm like, Joel. And then like, truly I forgot it was you. Like I forgot it was you, which is I think just to say you did an incredible job.

Like if you can forget it's a person you know, and you get lost in the story of this is this man who's having the weight of the world and his family on his shoulders and going through something really, truly fantastic job. Speaking of forgetting they're on screen, did you forget that Luke's actually on screen at one point as well?

Pretty much everyone in the family is at some point. Were you all? You didn't see me? You didn't notice, Paul Luke? Oh, well, I mean. Because you were so good at acting. Well, no, here's, no, no, this is actually the truth. Now I'm saying, please.

This is actually true. You know what I like to say is I'm such a good actor, I'm forgettable. All right, you will never realize, even if you watched again, you still may not find me. And the spandex and the yellow and black as well. He was in Striper. I'm the lead sir.

He's right at the beginning of the movie. I did not know that. I didn't even know initially it was him. And he's my brother. If I've said this before, but if there was a non-speaking Oscar award, I think I could be in the running. He embodied Michael's.

You know what I mean? I just feel like I think it should be a thing. You know, that does say a lot that I didn't notice. Because you know, you expect that, you expect it, you're like, oh, but no, I didn't even, I didn't even notice. So well done. I mean, I literally, a horse's mane,

like horses are jealous of the hair that was coming from my head at the moment. You know what I'm saying? So yeah, it was a real moment. And the Oscar goes to you. Yeah, thank you so much. Daytime, non-speaking role. Give your speech now. Luke Smallbone. Daytime non-speaking role. Give your speech now.

Luke Smallbone. Although you're in the running though, because every one of our family members is actually depicted in some way, shape or form in the film. Yeah, but I definitely did better than everybody else that had a speaking role. And he's so humble too. See, you were in it. He's so humble. Yeah, but she's had a speaking role.

Yeah, I'm the flight attendant right at the beginning. And then I'm doing all the voiceover work as the flight attendant before the family lands in LA. That was me. That was the bit you were sleeping in. I know, y'all were such good. You remember the plane? Y'all were so good. She threw up in the bathroom, let me recap everything.

Because you know, I was throwing up my whole pregnancy. I said, oh, that poor mama, my gosh. She was moving across the world. She was throwing up on that plane. So you were feeling that part. Oh yes, and that's the worst place to throw up, I have to say. Actually, right from the get-go,

you were like, this movie's stressful. Oh my gosh. I mean, truly, I was in it. You stress-lepped. No, I was in the whole movie feeling every feeling, so I didn't even notice that it was you guys. That's the point you might need to give it up. I don't even need to give it up.

Okay, so actually though, the character who played you looked a lot like you. That was good casting, I thought. Yeah, Michael Sweet. He was, no, the little boy. The little boy. Oh.

The little boy. I was like, yeah, you look a lot like Striper. He's excellent. He looked just like you. It was so cute. And then. So cute. Let me tell you, he didn't have a curly hair

on his head. No, he doesn't. Did he not? He had to get a straight. Every day. Really? No way. I didn't even know that. I saw him so many times. He's his head. Did he not? He had to get a straight. Every day. Really? I didn't even know that. I saw him so many times.

Straighten his ass. Oh, when the mom came though and fixed his glasses on the plane, they're like, it was so cute. No, truly I did watch the whole thing. And that moment, that moment though, I was like, oh my gosh, this is a perfect casting. He looks just like you. Yes. Okay. But for all the freaking country fans, we just have to say this because, you know, people love you guys. I mean, truly love you guys.

I was at the Caleb Awards last, two years ago last year, and I mean, it was like Caleb Award after Caleb Award after Caleb Award. Yes. Because the fans that love you guys and for good reason, because you guys are awesome and put out incredible things. It was so cool to see the start, and I'm going to get to your music in a second, but whenever they were like, hey, y'all sing the background. Was that really how y'all started singing together?

Maybe not exactly that way. But the truth is, we did start singing with Rebecca first. There's quite a few stories in Unsung Hero that we portray it as if it's probably over like two years period of time. The movie feels like it's probably over like two years period of time. You know the movie feels like it's about two years, year and a half. There's a lot of stories that we take from a quite,

you know, a wide margin and condense into that two years. So it's all true, but maybe the- But we did background vocals for it. But we did background vocals. Joel started when he was 12. Joel is so awesome. And I used to sing background vocals from- Every now and again.

The light desk and I would try and run lights Sing and call spotlights at the same time and there was a point when I realized I can't do this anymore And so then I actually just stayed for a little while Yeah, that is so cool because it's funny how like in your childhood you do these things and you're not even thinking about it It's unassuming and then all of a sudden, you look back and you're like, wow, God was preparing me the whole way. Here's a small story. So on my 21st birthday, our mother would write

in these like life journals, right? And so it would be like, say Honey says something and it was like really kind of groundbreaking. She would take a journal and she would write it in there. And as they age, obviously you've got this collection of stories. Well at my 21st birthday party, mom pulls out this life journal and she says, Luke I want to read something to you that you said to me when you were four years old. I was like, oh okay,

obviously I don't remember what I said. And so she opens up the book and she says, Luke, I was talking with Luke today and he told me what he wants to do when he's an adult. And so I thought I would write it down. And in the book, she says, Luke, you told me that you wanted to be a drummer and a singer. And I was four years old and I never even knew that. Isn't that crazy?

I didn't even hear that story. It's crazy. It's so crazy. I have a super similar story, which is just crazy because it goes to the point of God, He really knit you together in your mother's womb and like formed you for this time. And you don't even know what you're stepping into, but He knows.

And I always think I'm like, is He just like on the edge of a seat today, waiting for you to step into what you're gonna like fulfill today. And so it's so cool. Cause at five years old, there's a video of me preaching on the countertop to my parents. And I'm like telling them, I'm all about like, I like lay out the gospel. It's actually kind of crazy at five years old, there's a video of me preaching on the countertop to my parents. And I'm like telling them, I'm all about like,

I like lay out the gospel. It's actually kind of crazy at five years old. And then I say, and you know what? Even if I'm famous one day, I'm not gonna think of myself, I'm giving it to God. And then I said, let's give it up for God. And then I'll like jump on the table. And you're five.

Five. And so it's really cool. And then she said with every head bowed and every eye closed. Okay, we're gonna have a response moment. Yeah. And so, but it really is just crazy that it's like in your DNA what you're gonna do. And so seeing you guys do that was really, really cool.

And I see that for my siblings too in different ways, the things that they did when they were little. And so, you know, at the end of the movie, when you see where everyone in your family is at now, it's so cool to see the little glimpses you got in the movie. That's really what they're doing in fullness now. It's so cool to see the little glimpses you got in the movie. That's really what they're doing in Fullness now. So when did you guys start like truly doing your own thing? You went from background vocals to being for King and Country. Well, I mean, it's always a slow burn, right? It's kind of what you said. There was no real epiphanies along the way. I'd done some solo

music as a teenager. It was really bad. It was like bad, like boy band type. I think that's really cute. That's a sweet mix sister. That's one of the mom's souls when you're doing something badly. That's very sweet. That's really cute of you. Don't do that ever again. I can still sing those songs. I remember them. They're good. But we got to see so much in traveling with Beck because we did background vocals, we did stage managing, we ran the lights, we got to see the impact of a live show, we got to see the impact of the gospel of the live show, we got to see the impact of music and how to put on a show.

I mean, there was a point that I was sort of hiring and firing her band and I was like her right-hand man. And so even in making the film, it was really a cool love act for me as a brother to enact some of those scenes of, you know, David apologizing to Rebecca or the tension between them or the resolution between them. But it was, Luke was 19, I was 21 when For King Country officially started.

And we, our first ever shows were mother and daughter events I was 19, I was 21 when For King Country officially started. And we, our first ever shows were mother and daughter events with Beck. Which is wild because they ended up, you know, really calling men higher in who they are as men and calling them to integrity and purity. And a lot of that came from them doing these mother-daughter events with me and my mentor. And they were opening up for us for those events. So it was women's events. And they had this unique moment in time to tell women their value.

You're valuable. Like you're a princess, you're God's girl, and own that. And then so when they stepped into their thing, they also called men hire. So it's really powerful to see how God was even tooling and setting up kind of things that they've spoken about in their ministry. But then I kind of finished out in music, the first time around, I retired in about 2012. And really, I felt like that,

and dad had been managing me that whole time. And then he moved over to the boys and kind of an ushering. It was a whole new season for them. There's no doubt that without Rebecca's time as a musician, there would be no country. There'd be no movie. I mean, we actually wouldn't be in America. You see that.

And it's it's it's really cool as a family to see, like as siblings, you guys supporting each other and doing things together. And I think that, I wonder if that came from a lot of, like you said, when you would get a quarter and went to the family. It was always for the family. There was this bigger picture. It is such a gift to be able to share the Word of God. As you know, I pretty much spend my life doing that. I love sharing the Word of God because it's in the Word that I believe that we fully come alive in Christ. And so it's just truly been the greatest gift of my life

to receive the Word and get to spread the Word. We're so blessed to be able to read and study our Bibles whenever we want to. But the truth is that is not the case for every Christian out there. And y'all know that I love our partners at Cru and their work that the missionaries do all over the world because Cru's missionaries are watching Jesus change lives everywhere. But unfortunately many of these new Christians don't have their own Bible and that's where

we come in to play, fam. So for only $24 a month, you can provide three people with Bibles each and every month. And whenever you sign up to provide three Bibles with a monthly gift of $24 as a thank you, crew will provide meals to 12 hungry individuals through their humanitarian aid ministry. Plus, you'll also receive a brand new copy of Christian and I's book, How to Put Love First. It's a 90-day devotional challenge

about putting God first in your life. I think you're gonna love it. So simply text GOOD, G-O-OOOOD to 71326 to help today. And just imagine how much this monthly gift could truly change someone's life. So text GOOOD to 71326. Again, that's GOOOD to 71326 to help now. Or visit give.cru.org.org.g. Message and data rates may apply available to US addresses only. So, so much of the movie is about your story and coming into being the singer-songwriter musician that you are. And you're so incredible.

If you haven't listened to her music, you have a whole lot of goodness coming your way. Go look her up right now and listen to all of it. But tell us a little bit about that. So whenever you were getting into singing, actually doing it, did you view it as something like, oh, I can do this to help my family? Or was it always a passion of yours that you wanted to do? At 12, I remember giving my gifts and my talents to God.

So I'd given my life to Him at eight. And then at 12, it was like, God, I don't know how you can use this little Aussie girl. We were in Australia at that point, but I want you to use my life to make a difference for you. And music started happening really organically right after that. So I went on my first tour at 13 in Australia.

We moved to the U.S. at 14. I auditioned for different people at 14, 15, and then got signed at 15 full time at 16. So it was like God was just doing it. So it was really, I wouldn't say it was my dream. Actually, probably acting was a prior dream. I wanted to be in the sound of music when I was little, like when I was five or six.

She was almost in Sister Act Two. I was, I auditioned for it and got through like the first round. Very few people know that. Oh my gosh. But yeah, that was kind of a passion. And I've done some films in the past and do love that medium. But God led me into music. So it was really a open-handed thing of like, Lord,

whatever adventure you have for me, I just want to be on the mission that you have for my life. Because I know that's the sweet spot. So that was really the heart of it. I know that with a movie like The Blind, some things are true and some things you do for the sake of the story, for the drama. Did you actually have a lot of nos or some nos

before you had the yes in the music world? Yeah, yeah. I mean, you kind of see that in the film. There was multiple auditions that didn't end up panning out. But it's kind of funny. I think because it wasn't my big dream to do music, it didn't actually really worry me too much. I wasn't even really super aware.

Like, I would be doing these, like, I'd be singing at like a worship event or a youth conference or something, and record label people would come to it and watch me. And I wouldn't, sometimes, would be aware that they were there sometimes not sometimes they would be the stand in the room and do a cappella for a group of people but I just feel like because it wasn't this like dream that I'm like grabbing for when it didn't work out I was like oh okay yeah and I think dad you

know dad being the manager he was carrying a lot of that weight of like a lot is hanging on whether or not this happens or not. Whereas I wasn't. I was just like cleaning houses and babysitting. And then when I did get signed and start going on the road, I had to like tell all my babysitting and like cleaning clients that I couldn't do it anymore.

Some of them were kind of ticked. They were like, what? They're like, no, she made it. You're leaving me in the lurch because you're singing? What? Man, that's so cool. What was that song that you wrote? Was that actually genuine to that time or was it a little bit for the movie? No, Luke and I wrote that actually like 13 years ago, I want to say. I think I was dating Cubby at that time and maybe slightly longer than that ago,

13 and a half, 14. And it's on like my previous album. And then we recovered it for the soundtrack for this. But I feel like it's the heart of the movie is that God makes everything beautiful in his time. It's a song called, You Make Everything Beautiful. And that we can trust him with redemption in our story. I love that scripture too, that he will restore the years the locust has eaten.

Cause sometimes there's just times in your life that man, there was just so much loss. Like it's like just locusts, like insects have just come in and ravaged every part of your life and just eaten it up. And then just that God will restore that to like a green pasture of goodness, like Psalm 23. Like I just think that's a promise that a lot of us have to

hold on to because life is difficult. There is curve balls that we don't expect. There's things that happen that are just hard, but just trusting the goodness of God in those times that He's making beauty from ashes, I think is something we all need to be reminded of and the movie does that. Yeah, that's so good. The movie is incredible. Obviously, at this point, if you haven't already bought your ticket, I don't know what you're

doing because you got to go see the movie. But I wanna ask you to Luke, because you told me earlier you have three kids? Four kids. Four kids, I'm sorry. Four kids now. And I think about just my kids and, getting to watch my family's movie played out.

I didn't have to experience what my family went through to get to where they're at now. I kind of get to live in the restored time. I get to live in kind of like the blessing. We go through hard things, of course, but I watched that and I'm like, wow, thank God that they met the Lord in that time and all the things that have come from that.

And I've gotten to step into that. And I see the beauty of the legacy and the generations. My kids get to walk through that too. But I'm like, I also hope that my kids in these good things get those same lessons, those life lessons that you learn in those hard times. That you're a family and that everything's together and all of those different things. And so there's just so much beauty from looking at that story and taking the life lessons. What do you hope your kids get to see through watching y'all's life story? Yeah, well, I think-

I don't think he's been asked that before. No, I don't think so. This is good. I think there's two things. First and foremost, our kids are going to have their own set of struggles. And just because we went through something that looked like coming to a different country and it being very, very difficult, they're going to have their own journey. In some cases, they're better for it.

People need to go through hard times because hard times produces something. That's what I mentioned a lot. Struggle produces character, character perseverance, perseverance, hope. Usually the people that you like to spend time with are ones that have actually been through a little bit of fire. My kids have already gone through, in some cases, some difficult things. They're walking through their own things, even though my oldest is 11. He's had his fair share.

My youngest son, we nearly lost him when he was a little boy, so he's got to go and have doctor's appointments once a year. He's reminded of some of these things. So even though they may not walk my story, they will walk their own story. And it will have perils and pitfalls, as we talk about in the film. And they will be better for it.

And it's our job as parents to fortify them. I'm big on making your family fortified. What does a fortress looks like? A fortress looks like you can take on cannons. You'm big on making your family fortified. What does a fortress look like? A fortress looks like you can take on cannons, you can take on an army, and can you survive it? We should be people that are building up those walls of our fortresses as our family. And my hope is that this story demonstrates to them, hey, no matter what you go through, there are struggles, there's financial struggle, there's tension in marriage, there's siblings working out differences. That's just a part of life.

But hopefully, someone said to me, I said, hey, we're working on this film, we're going out and promoting it. And they were like, well, what do you think is going to happen? And I said, man, at the end of the day, that's what's fascinating about making a movie, is you just don't know the end result. And this person said this, he said, you will never regret making something that is a legacy piece that for years and generations to come,

that your family will get to look back on saying, hey, look what they walked through. That's my grandfather. That's my dad. That's my uncle. And I thought it just kind of made it feel like no matter what happens, hopefully you hope for success, but even if it doesn't be as successful

as maybe what we may hope that it is, it's still a success in the spiritual realm. And in some cases, it's the unseen things that are the most powerful things. And so for me, look, my youngest son came up to me the other day and we've been doing a lot of screenings and we'll go and introduce the film and then we'll walk out.

He was getting frustrated, he's six years old. He's like, dad, when do we actually get to watch the movie again? And I was like, well, we don't get to watch the movie again because we gotta go do something else. And he goes, and so I just said, hey man, by the way, what do you like about the movie? And he goes, man, there's just so much drama, dad.

There's so much drama. That's so awesome. That's so good. That's the perfect answer. And I was kind of teaching that to my two and a half year old the other day because we just started swim lessons for her and it's hard. And she hated it the first day because she's like, this is awful. Why would you do this to me? And she kept telling me in the car, as we were talking about it, she would say, it was hard, mommy, and I was sad, and I cried. And I was like, yes, I said, but you know, it's really good to do hard things

because hard things are going to make you stronger. And I kept telling her that. My mom used to say this, and you probably want to move on, but my mom used to say this when we were kids, and I felt it was a very powerful thing. If it's a beautiful day like today, you'd be like, I can't wait for the baseball game tonight, right? Well, then sometimes in the evenings, weather comes and then all of a sudden you got so excited for that baseball game and it's canceled. And I used to love playing sports and I would get really devastated. I'd get very sad, like your daughter. And my mom would say to me, she would say, Luke, are you disappointed? And I'd say, yeah, I'm disappointed.

She'd say, it's good to learn how to overcome disappointment. And that's just true. It's good to learn how to overcome the pain of the sadness of learning how to swim. Even at two and a half. Absolutely. I love that. I'm going to use that. And I think that so many people, especially parents nowadays, you try to save your kids from everything. Going through anything hard. Right. We can helicopter parent a little bit. Yes, helicopter parent. And I'm like, you know what, honey, it's really good to learn how to go through hard things.

And it's okay to cry. And that was scary, but you know what? You're going to be able to swim because you're going through this, right? That's right. Because you're crying it out. You're learning how to swim. And so it's such a beautiful analogy in life. It's like, it's okay to go through hard things. It's okay to cry going through hard things, but going through those hard things and the repetitiveness like, hey,

guess what you're doing again tomorrow. You know, you don't get to not do it tomorrow because this is the season we're in and this is what's teaching us how to swim. And it's making you stronger, like building up that muscle of resilience. Exactly, it's so good. Okay, Joel, I wanna end with this

because you got to play your dad in this movie. It's a passion project, I know, of y'all's. Because for me, whenever I watch movies, I'm the type of person where after I Google everyone and where are they all at and what are they all doing and watch any interview I can, two things I guess we'll end on is, one, what did your parents think of the movie? And just the final, like, ending this discussion, like, what do you hope for those listening as they step into the theater and watch y'all's story?

Well, we did have, I mean, you know about family affairs. You have to... Well, I wouldn't say you have to, but it's a wise thing to invite everyone into the conversation of some of this stuff. And so, um, mom, I thought until yesterday, mom and dad read the script, but it turns out that I found out from mom,

dad did not read the script, only mom. Until yesterday. Only mom read the script. But we also, before we'd finished the edit, we sat down with the whole family and we watched the film. And it was fascinating to see. I mean, mom was very emotional, similar to you when the epilogue hit.

She got to see the reality of where we all are and kind of connect those dots. For dad, literally dad went and talked to the projector guy that night. I think that's what dad does. In the theater. We're all weeping, and dad's like, hey, let's talk about your job description.

But since that day, I think he's watched the film handedly more than any family member. Maybe more than anyone other than those of us that were key parts of the movie. I think he's watched it like 15, 20 times. He's probably watched it more than you completely through. Yeah. And which says a lot, you know,

because he is a very integral part of the sort of stirring up of the story. And so they were pretty frightened, but they were, I think, both very moved in the end, which I think we, Luke and I particularly, but we all take as a high compliment because we did not want to shy away from the realities or the drama or even some of the pride

that dad felt or the failures that he felt, because that's important to the human experience. And it's important to depict that in movies. And yet he's embraced it. There's only been two people that have come up to me and said to women, actually said, like, I wanted to punch your dad in the throat after watching the film. Very violent. But very, very violent.

You kind of get that moment though. All the women maybe in that one part go, woohoo. In that one part. In that one part. He deserved that. You're like, yeah, you needed it. Well done, Helen. Not that we advocate for.

No, we don't advocate for physical violence. No, no, no, no, no. Not that it advocate for it. No, we don't advocate for physical violence. No, no, no, no, no. Not that it's very violent. Sadie, I think what we hope is this has been a pretty severe upswing for all of us, really, in that we're all musicians.

And with music, you have years to promote a project. You know, with your podcasts, you have episode after episode. Some succeed, some don't succeed. With a movie, particularly theatrical film, and Lionsgate has been kind enough to put this in thousands of theaters across America and the world. We've only got about 72 hours. So, April 26th, 27th, 28th. I mean, the film will stay in theaters for weeks after that, but that weekend is really the wave that proves the viability of the picture. And so, look, our hope is that if you believe in miracles, if you believe in mums, if you believe in 90s music, if you

believe in community and you believe in church and ultimately you believe in family and you believe in God, like this is, we made this for you and you'll show up, you know. And it will encourage you. And that it'll entertain you and that you'll feel, particularly for us 90s kids, you'll have all those 90 nostalgic feelings. And if you're a mom, I think you'll feel seen. And if you're a dad and a husband, I think you'll feel charged up to be a better man. And if you're a daughter, so many young ladies who are figuring out who they're gonna love

and what kind of life they're gonna lead and what they're calling is, in those pivotal moments, I think they see themselves in Rebecca. And so, yeah, we've dubbed April 26th, which is our parents' 49th wedding anniversary. Side note. But April 26th. Can't wait to see what they'll do for the 50th. I know. I know.

Well, we've dubbed it family day. You got Mother's Day, you got Father's Day. Let's have a good old fashioned family day at the theaters. I love it. Well, it's so good. Truly, this has been the best conversation. Thank you guys for just sharing your so good. Truly, this has been the best conversation. Thank you guys for just sharing your heart. Do you think it's been the best episode you've ever done? Oh my gosh. You know what? I interviewed with Christian, I'm sure.

That would have been the best. That's true. That's true. Thank you, Trumps. Thank you for saving our conversation. Don't save her from this. It has been a true, whoa, that's good episode. Everything has been so, so good.

And coming from a family who did just put out a movie, it does matter that you show up. It does matter that you buy tickets. We talk about this with our TV show all the time. It was so successful because you guys watch and it showed something to the people in Hollywood that people care about shows like this, that people care about shows that highlight God and family. And we always say, we wish there was more of that.

And if you wish there's more of that, then you can help show that by showing up, by buying a ticket, by being a part and supporting it on social media. And so we definitely ask that you do that. I know you're going to be so encouraged. Hope that you are already encouraged by this podcast and I will talk to you guys next week.