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LaRue -- The Interview, Part 3

Matthew Turner
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Matt: You guys have made a pretty strong stand on purity and sex. Does that add more pressure to you, being the role models?

Natalie: When we first started this whole thing, my mom was like, "You know, guys, I was just thinking and praying about it, and God really showed me that because you're going to take this stance, the devil's really going to throw the temptation on you." We actually laughed, because we hadn't had a boyfriend or a girlfriend in forever and we kind of just laughed it off. Actually it was really strange, but two or three months later we both were involved in a relationship.

Matt: And felt that pressure.

Natalie: Yeah, totally. We were like, "Well, there you go, God." We totally felt the pressure of thinking that this could really happen and was a reality for both of us.

Phillip: I think it's good to admit that. I think it's good to admit that I'm tempted to have sex and that the temptation is so strong. Because I think that if I had tried to ignore that and say, "I don't ever struggle with those thoughts," that's right when I'd fall, when I'd do stuff like that. Like, where I go, "I'm doing really, really good," and then the next day, I blow it. I think that this whole stance that we're taking on purity, I think it's seen more accepted in the world, if you look at different magazines or different artists or different people, and they're beginning to see it's not only Christians that do it because God doesn't want them to do it, but it's because of other people and there's other reasons.

Matt: It's the smart thing to do.

Phillip: And people are beginning to see that, and I think it's our jobs as Christians, just like our faith, just like anything, not only to do it because believing in God makes you feel good. There are a lot of neat reasons and logical reasons that God exists, and just like we shouldn't have sex not only because it's requested by God and it's very important to Him that we not do that, but it's also, there's health reasons, there's relationship reasons, there's heart reasons.

Natalie: I think kids are trying to figure their lives out, so if people come out and make a really bold, confident stance in something that's a really touchy issue, kids look to that with respect. I've met so many girls that I know, virgins and non-virgins, that are like, "In my school, if you stay a virgin you might get teased, but in the end, guys respect you more, girls respect you more." You are taken as someone that has respect for themselves, and I think that that's really appreciated in the world today, where people are just trying to look for something to fill that gap of God.

Matt: Having had the privilege of spending time around you guys, one thing I've noticed is that you have got the coolest family in the world, and from my standpoint I was like, "That is so cool to have your family around," but I'm also thinking that it may be the biggest pressure to have your family around all the time. How do you guys manage that?

Phillip: It's an interesting thing, and right now we're actually praying through a lot of things and looking at this next year, figuring out our lives and figuring out, "OK God, you called us to be in this family, what can we do and what can we not do?" First of all, it's a neat thing, because we feel comfortable 100 percent of the time with our family. Even if that means I'm great or if I'm horrible they still accept me, because they know me. I'm not around strangers, and if after the show I'm just falling apart, they know how to deal with that. And that is a really neat thing. Plus, they're accountability, and accountability is so important on the road. It's easy to fall, to do stupid things, and so that is good. There's also some pressure because we're representing the family, or if we mess up, it's the family.

Natalie: Or the sacrifices that our family has made for our career. What if our career doesn't go that well?

Phillip: What happens then? There are a lot of questions, and we know that God is good and that God is going to provide, but still, there's a little bit of pressure there that we put on ourselves, that our family doesn't put on us at all.

Matt: You guys are on the Left Behind soundtrack. What did you think of the movie?

Natalie: I was out on vacation with some friends in Colorado, and they had it, so I said, "I've got to sit down and watch it, because I'm on the soundtrack. I have to see this." So I watched it, and actually I thought it was a pretty decent TV movie. I just thought, "This is halfway decent." We were grateful to be on the soundtrack. We thought that that was a cool deal. We didn't really write a specific song.

Matt: Do you guys think the creativity in Christian music is improving?

Phillip: I think we're at a really interesting time right now.

Natalie: I think Christian music definitely has a choice. It either has a choice to be stagnant right now or to push forward, to push the envelope and keep going and keep pressing further.

Phillip: And this is also one thing that I've seen, that Christian music is getting to the point where we're realizing that people are asking, "How many Christians do listen to Christian music? I think that we're seeing that there's Christian bands, because they're great musicians, they take off and because of their art and the music they make. People don't really think, "Oh, that's a Christian band," they think, "Oh, that's a really good band and they're Christians." Like POD and other people, Sixpence, there's been some really neat things where the world respects their faith. Maybe they don't understand it, but they respect it and they also admire their stance. They look at their music and go, "Man, they're really, really good." And so I think Christian music, like Natalie said, can make a choice. I think what's really going to happen, though, is that the people who are really going to make it in the long run are the people that are really very focused on God and are about faith and about the Lord. I hope that Christian music is moving, I feel it in my heart that it is, creatively. There are some things that we need to get over and a lot of hills that we need to climb.

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