REBECCA ST JAMES recently took part in an international online chat on the internet where she fielded dozens of questions from fans around the world. Here are the highlights.

I actually did cover a non-Christian song on my 'God' album called "Your're The Voice". It's by an Australian artist named John Farnham. When I play it in Australia, everyone knows it, but not in the US because it didn't break here. The message of the song is being radical and the song to me held a Biblical idea.

Fusebox is your band, right?

Fusebox is my band, but at the end of this year, they are leaving to go out on their own. Really, after the European tour.

Will you be building a new band then?

Yes, we've already started looking and auditioning people.

A lot of people in the RSJ chat area frequently ask about your dating status. Are you uncomfortable with your personal life being of interest to so many people?

I am seeing someone special right now, and it is difficult to have my personal life on show. It's something that, at the same time, I am an open book. I don't have anything to hide, but I do struggle with "where do my personal and public life begin and end" because both lives are so sewn together.

What is your strategy for keeping it real and not losing yourself under the weight of ministry demands and expectations placed upon you?

Very, very good question! I like the deep questions! I really try to have daily time with God, in the Bible and prayer. That really fuels me. I know that if I don't fill up on God, I have nothing to give. One of the things that helps me when I feel overwhelmed about my platform, I realise that it's not about me. I can just rest in God as his daughter, and I realise that it is about him and it gives me a lot of peace and comfort when I focus on that perspective.

All people in here are fans of you. But are you also a fan of someone or do you have some role model?

Yes. Mother Teresa and Billy Graham have been my longstanding role models. Mother Teresa for her servant's heart and Billy Graham for his integrity. But I also have a mentor here in America who used to be in Christian music, and I look up to her. I also greatly admire my parents as well.

Why do your read the NIV?

I actually use a few different translations. I use the NIV and the NCV and the Message as well. Right now I'm going through the Bible in two years. I have a couple of devotional books that I read. I wanted to savour it, and not race through it. I am using another translation for that.

Do you think it's impossible to be a Christian and a secular artist?