The Petra Zone

When I became a Christian, the first Christian record I heard (a LP, I became a Christian in 1988, and there was no CD here in Brazil!) was "Not of This World". It was a mark in my life, because even secular radio stations aired NOTW. While I was hearing "Grave Robber", at some night, I was baptized with the Holy Spirit. Well, this issue, spiritual gifts, are still a taboo here, specially for the non-pentecostal churches, like mine. I even think that I'm a Presbyterian pastor without Presbyterian grimaces ! At that time, we at Brazil didn't have no news about Christian music at all, specially Petra. Now we have the blessed internet ! I want to know where are now the old folks who did their mark at Petra history, like Mark Kelly, John Slick, Ronnie Cates, John Lawry, Rob Frazier, Greg Volz. Specially for this last one, because I heard about some discussions between him and the other members of Petra as resulting in his pursuing for a solo career. If someone know where are they now and what are they doing, and specially for the question about Volz vs. Petra, give me a feedback, please!

You mean you missed mine and Elo's posts about Ronny? Hahahahahaha. No, Ronny lives in Florida and he has his own recording studio. Johnny Lawry still lives in Nashville I believe and does some producing too. I always assumed Greg just left when it was time for him to; there's been speculation about that forever it seems like. But he does solo albums and has his own web site. I don't know about the others, but I imagine they're still around.

But... Why they leave the band???

It's normal for band members to come and go over the years. Their time with Petra was over, they just left when it was time for them to.

God calls people for a season in life, that's how I look at it. Just as in any other ministry, each individual felt God leading them in another direction.

Let's look at an example on the secular side for me personal....(May not be a good example):

I went to school to be a computer programmer. I started out my vocation as a computer operator, went to Helpdesk, eventually reaching a programmer status. The economy changed my view on programming and I decided to go into other areas such as Tech Support, Web Design, and other platforms.

As poor as this example is, let me tie this back in with Petra band members...past and present.

Greg left the band to be more with his family at the time and later went solo. He currently has his own ministry, serving the Lord as He calls Greg.

Louie Weaver, despite the conditions of his departure, now has his own ministry going as well. My speculation is that God turned a "Why?" situation into a "That's why!!" situation.

Ronny, as stated earlier, left the band for personal reasons only to have his own studio. (By the way, he holds Petra in the highest esteem...check his website out at http://www.ronnycates.com and read for yourself.)

These are just a couple examples of how big God's plans are versus man's/woman's. We may not see the big picture until we are in His arms but sometimes He allows us to see reasons why situations happen in our lives.

I was fortunate to see a portion of this through my dad's death. Questions like "Why did God take him so early?" soon gave light to some information. How much of an impact we have on others, what could have been if he stay with us much longer, and various other insights came to light during this time.

I guess I got a little long-winded (Comes from have three uncles as preachers!!) but it all boils down to this one statement:

God's ways are much better then ours. He has such a broader field of vision then we do!!

Sorry, I don't know if I got off the beat and path here.

Have a great day and fantastic eternity!!

Just one thing about Ronny...when he left Petra it wasn't until years later that he decided to open his own studio.

now people will start asking THEN WHY? and *YOU* are gonna answer them LOL

If they do, epdc, I'll just say "Cause, I said so! That's why!!".

It's great to see Ronny having greta success after Petra.There is life after Petra for some.
God Bless
Jason

that he went to another hospital. NO WAIT, that`s dr. Greene. We will make a good story if someone asks