Petra: Recording 21st album this year?

[reviewer]

It's Petra management and record label

If this album was properly pushed we would be still hearing about it


"If it looks good..you'll see it ;
If it sounds good, you'll hear it ;
If it's marketed right, you'll buy it;
but...if it's real, you'll feel it."

Kid Rock

[ctwomn]

What you guys have been saying is so true! Maybe Petra is SCARY to them. I think that they very well might be afraid of what Petra could do if let lose!! They could saturate the market...and where would all the other Christian rock bands be if Petra is getting all the attention....OH NO! Maybe those bands would start to sound like Petra.....Goodness!

[BillDD]

SO what you are saying is that since petra calls themselves a ministry, that should automatically get them played on the radio? First of all I would hardly call them a ministry, you have to pay to get into a concert, you have to pay to get a cd, so if they are a ministry, they are a ministry only to those who can afford it. Second, I bet everyone who gets played considers themselves a ministry too, why should radio drop them to play petra?


Petras fans have just moved on. If 500,000 people bought whatever album, where did all those fans go? Did they sto0p buying petra's albums because of radio? Of course not, those fans just grew, and petra is still making the same music, their music has not moved past simple cliches. Coulda woulda shoulda, or whatever, could have been on ANY petra album from any era, where is the growth?

So in Jt's words, cry me a river, but don't blame radio for not playing petra, blame petra for not growing.

[Petrapraise]

BillDD,

I will agree with you that just because Petra considers themselves a ministry, they should get radio play. As you said, I'm sure all CCM bands consider themselves a ministry too. But just because you have to pay to go their concerts (or anyone elses either) doesn't mean they are not a ministry. They do because that's what the fans want and truthfully to make money too (to continue their ministry). Bibles cost money too, so does that mean they are not a ministry, Of course not!
Some fans have moved on, some have stayed fans, and some have become fans. I think Petra's music is still good and relevant. I will concede that the music industry has changed and they have not moved totally in the same direction. Other bands in the secular industry have grown and fallen behind in their fields too. I suppose we could discuss this all different ways and find examples to support both our positions. Fact is, this a Petra supported website, and MOST of us still support PETRA and the MINISTRY they are still providing to us. We just still want them to go out and be as popular as they once were. Maybe it happens and maybe it won't, be we hope and pray so.

P.S. - You still haven't told us whether or nor your a Petra fan, past or present. PLEASE REPLY!

[ctwomn]

Doesn't sound like a fan to me!!!

[epdc]

In the word "Ministry".

My dance leader told me once that "ministry" means "to fullfill a need or provide a service.

When we minister people (in a worship team for example) we are letting God`s Presence to flow through us to fullfill a need in someone`s heart.

Another way to minister is to pray for people, to give them words of encouragement, of peace and hope. A hug can be another of way of minister someone.

I think Petra is a minister. We need to pay? well, they also need to eat. And if you compare their prices for getting them to come somewhere to other prices of other bands, you`ll see a BIG difference. They are not popular right now you might think and you are right. But I also think they need more publicity. I have heard bands that are not cool but "are cool" because of publicity.

I believe that there are many ways of reaching people, as someone said here before. Some people won`t reach out to God through Petra but will through POD. God gave us creativity and that`s a powerful weapon for figuring out how to reach people because we are all different.

Still, I don`t think Petra should change that. I like their lyrics the way they are and I like they be all open to say "we talk about Jesus". John said once that they wanted to do something like Jeckyll and Hyde before but the record companies wouldn`t allow it. Who knows? maybe next cd be as good or better than JAH

Maybe my comment as nothing to do with this this discussion (lol) but I really wanted to say what I think.

[Jonathan]

He's no fan.

Perhaps Petra's large scale touring days are behind them. They aren't going to be the darlings of modern CCM radio anymore.

Also, it's unlikely that a change of voice is going to be the answer.

Thats not to say Petra can't still reach people with the opportunities they are being given.

I'm a fan though.

[bakersfieldpethead]

BillDD

I have to agree that everyone has their own opinion. But, I will say the Bible says not to go somewhere to cause confusion, in fact the Bible said that God is not the author of confusion.

I understand that you may have your reasons for your lack of respect for a band that built the industry of Christian Rock, or at least help lead the way. But if this type of talk is all you are going to do here on the board, please just leave. Petheads are a family, and we're very much for high promotion of Petra. We will do what ever it takes to help Petra, wether it's Pray, help uplift them, tell as many people as we can about them, or request a song on the radio, or go to a concert of a number of concerts, or by several of their albums and give them to people, whatever it is, we will do it because we believe that God has called them to do what they are doing. They still minister to us.

Yes they are a ministry, they go out and sing about Jesus, and they tell people about Jesus. We may have to pay tickets, buy albums, whatever. I'm in a band, I'm also a diabetic and I know with my healt I have to assure myself that I'm gonna get the right foods I need when I'm on the road. So therefore I have to have a means of income, that's why people buy tickets, or else if everything was free then there would be no need to pay tickets. Salvation is free, the good times at the concert is free, getting the chance to fellowship with other fans and christians is free.

We are Petheads (PETRA FANS) that's it, nothing else needs to be said here. Unless you have something good to say about Petra, don't post here anymore.

And answer our question, ARE YOU A PETRA FAN or NOT?

[MJanke]

Geez, guys, just because one is a fan doesn't mean one needs to stick there head in the mud.

Let's be realistic. Petra is not anywhere near the level that they once were, commercially (which has nothing to do w/ the validity or value of the band's ministry).

There are reasons for this.

If we only sit here and cheerlead and dont realistically look at the way things are today and, worse, if that's what the band does, then they will never again reach the levels that they once did. Things change - and it is not unloving to ask why things have changed and Petra has been left behind.

I love Petra. I would never dis the group. But at the same time since I love them I would have no problem asking hard questions about some of the choices that the band has made and critiquing what might need to be done to help better their chances for success in the future.

If a parent loves their child they will discipline their child. To only tell them positive things and ignore areas where they need correction is to spoil them, which is, ultimately, unloving.

It's no different here.

The fact is, BillD is right. Petra did not grow. The entire last part of the 90's is all the evidence you need. Petra no longer has any peers in Christian music - they have all since retired and moved on to other things. The peers Petra does have in the mainstream, that still exist, have morphed and adapted. Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, and others. They may not be at the top anymore, but they still have a high level of success because they have found a new sound that still compliments where they were in their heyday. That is what Petra needs to do as well, imo. They tried on JAH - to some degree of success. But, unfortunately, by not trying for so long in the 90's they let the music scene pass them by and dug themselves a hole so big that they may never get out of it.

I hope they do. But don't sit here and say I'm not a fan, or BillDD isn't a fan, because we have an opinion that is critical.

[Petrapraise]

I just asked if he was a fan.........and I am still curious........

[Shell]

You make some valid points, Mike, and it's not a matter of having an opinion. I don't think anyone here thinks everyone is required to like Petra, or has a problem with someone having an opinion. But this person who obviously is angry about something insists on coming around and saying hurtful things that are not accomplishing anything. Why would he want to make posts on a message board of a band he thinks are such losers? That's what I'm having a problem with.

I think everyone agrees that Petra isn't as popular as they were in the early 90s. There could be any number of reasons for that, and there could be any number of solutions to the problem. Ultimately it has to be up to the guys to decide what to do, they are big boys after all. There is some wisdom in that old saying about too many cooks being in the kitchen.

I think the best and most effective thing we can do to be helpful is just to pray for them, and trust that God guides them in the direction He wants them to go. I think too much emphasis is being put on popularity anyway; it's not popularity that really matters, it's the message.

[LexingtonPethead]

Mike (MJanke, but I see everyone knows you as Mike),

I understand that you've been a part of the Petrazone before. I would say, a BIG part based on the numbers of people who seem to know you based on how they address you in their posts.

Since I am newer to the zone than you, I've not had the benefit of reading the topics and debates that were posted on the old board. But I have read virtually ALL posts that have been made on this board.

I'm assuming that you've kept up with this board, although you may have done so as a guest before rejoining the zone (again).

All I can say is that although BillDD has raised some hard, pointed questions and comments in previous postings, he has also on numerous occasions made comments that have hit below the belt... comments that have not lead to honest discussions as to why Petra is not as popular today, but have in fact been hurtful and destructive.

I agree that we should be free to say what we want on this board. But if all someone wants to do is get on here knock the band we are supporting in a demeaning way, then I agree with Stephen, they should go find another board.

Since I've been a part of the new zone, I've seen numerous theories presented as to why things happened the way they did in the 90s, what led to Petra's decline and the various external factors that were involved. All of these things have been discussed in honest, open dialogue, except for when BillDD has commented.

I agree with you that the negatives need to be discussed. It might even hurt to say certain things. I think most of us here are mature enough to take it. What we don't appreciate is someone getting on here making flagerant and destructive comments about Petra, whether they are true or not.

[epdc]

people might think "but Bill is saying the truth" yeah, but even there are many ways of saying "the truth", ways that might be destructive or in a positive way that will build not destroy.

We all can say or opinion, whatever that might be but there are ways of saying things. I mean, it doesn�t matter how true is what we say but the way we say it. If we say it in a negative way nobody will listen and will end up fighting.

[MJanke]

he has also on numerous occasions made comments that have hit below the belt...

Ah, I can see why that would annoy, and it certainly is different than contsructive criticism.