“I could never have picked myself to be in any kind of public ministry," he said. "As far as a leader goes, I'm probably not a good choice. I am not a great people person."
Bob Hartman
In May of 2024 my wife Mary noticed that Petra was coming to Winnipeg, Manitoba as part of a 50th anniversary tour. I was shocked… as years earlier we had attended a Manitoba concert we thought was going to be their last. We decided we would purchase tickets.
We did not have big expectations, since Bob Hartman is now 76 and John Schlitt is now 74. We felt they had nothing to prove… we just wanted to enjoy an evening of nostalgia with a band that had deeply impacted our lives.
To say we were blown away is an understatement. This 5 piece band with an average age over 70 years old completely surprised us. The music was tight, the atmosphere was electric and this group of guys showed up powerfully with 2-3 minute drum, keyboard and guitar solos and a lead singer that could still jump and sing with the same passion and talent he did 15 plus years ago.
I cried a bit when the song “Council of the Holy” played… I was transported back 35 years to the moment I met Jesus Christ on my living room floor as I read my Bible and confessed “God this is YOUR word!” Most of all though, what I was truly blessed by was the fact that after 50 years these guys still love Jesus. Their message never got watered down theologically. Their passion for the lost never wavered, which was confirmed as Bob Hartman gave an 8 minute testimony and call to come to Jesus as he did.
The Jerry Mcguire had that one iconic scene in which he says this:
“We live in a cynical world, a cynical world, and we work in a business of tough competitors.”
The Christian music industry is messy today. It’s a massive business and there are many who use it and manipulate it strictly for personal gain with poorly written, theologically unsound lyrics by using slick targeted demographic marketing. Today we see a number of well known Christian bands who have deconstructed or left the faith altogether.
When Bob Hartman founded Petra it was hard… Churches were not to welcoming of these rock and roll Jesus people. As Bob says in an interview with Josh Renaud in 1998:
“It was very rough. There weren't many places to play and we were lucky to make our expenses when we did play. We also had to deal with the anti-rock message that many churches were giving out. It was really a wonder we survived at all. We weren't full time till the late '70's and then it was "hand to mouth" for several years. We played mainly in places that had started during the "Jesus Movement"...coffeehouses, etc.”
Ray asked Bob this question a little later in the interview:
What do you think of the state of "Christian music" today? Is it actually being used by God, or is it more of a profit machine?
“Although I can't look inside anyone's heart, my feeling is that there are more people today attracted by the money and fame than there used to be. Perhaps it is because those things are more easily obtained in Christian music today than they used to be. But God is able to use efforts even when they come from wrong motivations. There are many artists that are putting out great Christian music that is being used by God in powerful ways.”
I needed to see it!
I needed to see that a leader and a passionate evangelist, someone who probably gets lifted onto a pedestal occasionally… that such a man could and would choose to follow Christ wholeheartedly and escape the corrupt culture that is the modern entertainment industry and come out in the end with a genuine faith in Jesus Christ!
Thank you Petra for the message you have brought for 50 years… consistently, faithfully, without compromise!
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