As Christian music's top selling band with over six million albums sold, Petra has played a crucial role in pioneering the music which now is one of the only genres in the recording industry experiencing double digit growth. With recent stories on the rapid growth of Christian music published in Time, People, Entertainment Weekly, Spin, Details and Rolling Stone, Petra has long been among the highest profiled and most widely recognized groups, while they remain consistently dedicated to expressing their ideals through their ministry based performances.
The first group to top all five CCM Update retail and radio charts simultaneously, Petra has been honored with two Gold albums, three Grammys, more than two dozen CCM Christian Reader's Poll Awards, numerous Christian Music Awards, nine Dove Awards.
When it comes to Christian music, Petra is one name which stands out in public opinion, reflecting integrity, trust, respect and both international and mainstream influence. After more than two decades of touring in nearly twenty countries with an astounding 22 recordings, Petra stands out in the music industry as the "world's premier Christian rock band." Petra is consistently one of Christian music's most awarded, respected and well-known groups.
God Fixation is the latest project from a band that has stood the test of time in Christian music. Produced again by master-crafters John and Dino Elefante, along with Petra founder Bob Hartman, the album releases slightly more than one year after the successful Petra Praise 2: We Need Jesus, which launched a popular title cut as the theme song for Calvary Chapel's Harvest Crusades.
The new album's title, named after one of its songs, expresses a statement that Petra lead singer John Schlitt says rings through to the heart of where the band stands. "It says that we are fanatics over Jesus," Schlitt says. "We are hooked on Him. In these times where that isn't necessarily the cool thing to say or the cool way to say it. I don't know any other way to put it. When we realize who Jesus really is, our eyes become fixated on him, and it changes our whole way of living."
Until just two years ago, Petra was an "older band" that might not have connected as well with younger audiences as it does today. Then came the addition of Kevin Brandow, Pete Orta and Lonnie Chapin, which Schlitt sees as the unfolding of God's plan for Petra in the late 1990's and beyond. "It added some fresh blood to Petra, and kind of a new mindset. And with Louie and myself, there's a certain maturity here - so it's almost the better of two worlds. I think anybody that's seen us live can see that we're very entertaining to the younger generation."
The evolution in band membership illustrates the power of the Lord's ministry. Notes Schlitt, "Ministry has lasted longer than any band Petra has put together. The Christian band has changed for the ministry, whereas if it was another scenario - if the ministry changed for the Christian band - then you'd start depending on man, and you'd start depending on yourself, and there will come a time when you'd fail. God never fails; He knows what He wants to do."
God Fixation was written for long-time Petra fans and a new generation of listeners. Looking back at 1995's No Doubt; Schlitt describes that project as almost a transition from albums such as Beyond Belief and Unseen Power - recordings that were "stadium-rockers, big productions."
Among the new cuts found on God Fixation, "If I Had to Die for Someone" challenges whether we would have the courage to die as Jesus did: for strangers who also happened to be sinners. "Invitation," which references Jesus' parable about a wedding feast scorned by those who were invited, reminds us, as Schlitt says, "we're sitting at the table. That invitation is for us, and what are we going to do about it?"
Another cut, "Falling Up," is about a person with no hope until a friend hands him a track and tells him Jesus' love. "St Augustine's Pears" concerns the impact that a boyhood sin of petty theft had upon St. Augustine of Hippo.
Schlitt says Petra also is focused on projecting a more intimate sound, "not a lot of fluff. You're sitting in front of us and we're bearing our souls, not to mention our musical chops."
Petra's current fan base is best described as "strange," Schlitt says, with a staunch hard core generation that has always supported the band and remains loyal. But the band's ministry has always been directed toward young people, where Petra feels the major battle is being fought for the hearts and souls of those just forming their opinions and very susceptible to ideas and philosophies.
Having solidified as a unit, Schlitt says life with Petra "has been a ball. I will stand on stage just about every night now, and when I introduce the band I'm in joy. I like being on stage again. I like the freshness, I like the unity. I like the commitment toward a Christian walk, the desire to see lives changed and a lack of desire to be rock stars."
Discography
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