Rocking, Writing, and Ministry: The Enduring Marriage of Petra's John & Dorla Schlitt

Dorla & John Schlitt at a recent book signing. Photo image courtesy DorlaSchlitt.com
NASHVILLE – John and Dorla Schlitt, are a couple whose remarkable marriage has thrived for more than 50 years. While John is best known as the powerful voice behind the legendary Christian rock band Petra, he and Dorla have built a lasting partnership that has weathered the unique challenges of life in the spotlight.

As Petra recently concluded its 50th anniversary with a worldwide tour and John shares his inspiring life story in the new documentary The Journey, Dorla is embarking on an exciting new chapter with the release of her children’s book, The Adventure of the Scarlet Thread.

Together, they continue to inspire audiences through their faith, their family, and their enduring commitment to one another.

I recently sat down with John and Dorla to discuss the secret to their marital success, what God taught Dorla during the writing process of her book, and why John is determined to keep performing into his eighties.

What's the secret to your marital success? You have been married for more than 50 years. This is amazing considering that you are best known for being part of an industry that is very unforgiving when it comes to marriages.

John Schlitt: Yes, dear. (laughs) It's funny because when we got married, I actually said to her, “Now, babe, I'm going to be a rock star.” And she said, “I know.” And that was sort of the spirit behind the marriage from the word go. From the beginning she knew what she was marrying and she was okay with that.

Dorla Schlitt: I knew what I was getting into. We were in agreement about what he was going to do. He had a degree in civil engineering but we just didn’t think he would be using that at any point. But we didn’t know.

Did your parents ever say something to the effect of, you're marrying a rock guy? I don't know about this.

Dorla Schlitt: They were a little hesitant, especially my dad. But he changed his mind. They knew John as a person and knew he had a good heart.

John Schlitt: We were hometown sweethearts. So, they watched me grow up. They knew my background. Yes, I was some oddball musician, but I had not come from out of nowhere. They watched me develop and they realized that I came from a good family. But her dad wasn't that excited about me marrying his daughter. He said, “Johnny, boy, you're a good boy, but not good enough.” And he walked out of the room.

And thanks to her mother, she was convinced that I was going to marry her daughter. So that was a rocky start. But as time went on, we had a great relationship with both sets of parents.

I've always thought you two were a great story, having been married that long, being out in the public eye so much in your life, and raising kids together. Your story of love and commitment is just fantastic.

John Schlitt: We've been very blessed. And being able to handle fame, it was God from the word go. Even before we were Christians, we look back now and see God had a plan.

It’s now time for a real awkward segue. Dorla, I would like to chat a little bit about your new book, The Adventure of the Scarlet Thread. If you were trying to convince a friend to pick up a copy of this book for their kids and give it a read, what would you say to encourage them?

Dorla Schlitt: I would first ask if they knew Christ or not. But I would encourage them to read it and see that God loves them in a very personal way. Growing up in the Church myself, before I really knew Christ in a personal way, I knew a lot about the Bible but didn't know a whole lot about how to share it with others.

I would encourage them to read it and see how God is just so faithful from the very beginning. And when Adam moves in, how he provided a provision so that he could have a people for himself. He made a promise that he would bring a savior. And this brings the Old Testament and New Testament together in a way that children or adults can see that makes sense. It's not a profoundly written book with a lot of theological detail, but it helps give an overview and specifically deals with some stories that are very clear in presenting how God had a plan for salvation from the beginning.

As you were writing this book, what did God teach you during that process? I'm sure there were some lessons learned through this process. Did you learn anything new about the subject matter that you never realized before?

Dorla Schlitt: I think the most important thing I learned was there was a deepening in my heart and in my spirit. I gained a new appreciation for the goodness of God and His faithfulness to His Word throughout all the ages and His power in doing so through the Old Testament. I have four Old Testament stories that clearly show the scarlet thread, but there is tons of scripture and stories that reveal Christ in the Old Testament. This is just scratching the surface.

There's a lot of books out there in the marketplace that might be considered similar to this that are kind of in the same general category. What makes this book stand out apart from the others?

Dorla Schlitt: The content is very important, but also the illustrations are top notch. They were done so very well. They truly draw your attention into what I’m bringing across in the message. Children, youth, even adults are attracted when there's good art that shows detail. I wanted Jesus to look like a man. I wanted the people to be diverse because it's a different culture.

It’s time for another awkward segue. John, I understand that there is a new documentary about you on the way called The Journey. What can you tell me about it?

John Schlitt: The Journey has been done for a while, but we really didn't know how to present it. It was out on a few media platforms. But there really wasn’t much talk about it. But we finally got our act together. We are going to offer it to everyone, including South America and Central America. We didn't realize it was that complicated. I just thought if we did a documentary, it would be out there and everything would be cool. But the hard part is once it's done, how do you get people to know it exists? It's funny, it's been finished for about two years, but now we're finally getting organized. For all the money that was put into it, it's probably one of the cheapest things we've ever done. I'm super excited about it.

Our son and his team were very involved. He actually sells high end cars like Porsches and Mercedes. His promotions people came to him and said, ‘Do you realize how famous your dad is?’ He goes, ‘Yeah.’ They said, ‘No, no. You don't understand. This man should be having a documentary made about him right now.’ So my son said, ‘Okay. Do it.’ And that's how this project started out. I praise God that he had the capacity to do it.

A lot of artists write a memoir about their life as they look back at their careers, and where it has taken them. Is The Journey sort of a reflection of the 50 plus years you've spent in the music industry?

John Schlitt: It is but it's even further back than that. It actually covers more than 50 years. More like 60. From the first band in my life to what I am doing currently. When I quit my high school band to go to college, I thought that was the end of the music. But I found a band that ended up being Head East. That got me touring all over the country for years. It also got me in trouble as far as drugs and alcohol are concerned. But it also got me into a relationship with Jesus Christ. But I went low as I needed to go to finally find the way. New in my faith, I decided to walk away from music. Then I had about five years of actually using my degree, and then all of a sudden, through Christ, Bob Hartman contacted me about joining Petra. He said he always thought I had a really interesting story. How I was in music and then out of music. So, I came back into music and suddenly I was fronting the biggest Christian band in the world

When Bob called, I was a big fan already. But I had been out of music for what felt like forever. But I could listen to Petra because that's how rock and roll should have been done. I should have done that much sooner but I thought It's too late for me. And when he called me, my wife (Dorla) was in the kitchen and listened to the phone call. And he says, “Would you consider singing for Petra?” And I thought he was kidding. I said, “Yeah, let's do it.” And he goes, ‘Well, don't you think you and your wife should pray about it?’

Meanwhile, she's in the kitchen dancing and praising God. I thought this opportunity was God. She knew it was exactly what God wanted for me. This was because there were a lot of times in that five year period where I wasn't singing. All these bands would call me and say, ‘Hey, we're a Christian band and we would like you to join us." And my wife would go, ‘That's not God. That’s not God.’ But when that call came in, she knew it was the beginning of a new life for us.

I understand that you and Petra have a new album out called The Hope. This after a successful 50th Anniversary tour concluded last year. You guys don’t seem to slow down. What can you tell me about the new album?

John Schlitt: When God opens doors, you keep walking through them. With the 50th anniversary, we hadn't done anything for 20 years. Bob called me and said, ‘You know, John, it's been 50 years. We probably should do something.’ And I said, oh, it'd be fun. We had a team that we've gone out with maybe once or twice a year to do benefit type shows over time. It was usually for something special. For this, we put the guys back together and we have had a great time. You can have fun praising Jesus, you know? We figured on six dates, a couple in Europe, a couple in South America, maybe one or two here in the United States. This was assuming anybody was interested. And so, all of a sudden the story got out that we were touring. Six shows turned into 18 for that one year. And then by the time the year was over, we already had 18 more lined up. I guess people missed us and wanted to see us play live together again. It took three years to do a 50th Anniversary tour, but we ended up playing about 100 dates.

So, when that was over, by this time, we're having someone talk to us about a Petra documentary, or a Petra movie. They wanted us to do some soundtracks for it. And so, besides the fact that in our tour we were doing all these meet and greets, and every time, at least half the people asked us to please do another record. There was no concept for doing that. But when they started talking about a soundtrack, we're thinking, we could probably do one or two songs. And all of a sudden, one or two turned into Bob and I getting into the groove again. And all of a sudden, one or two songs turned into five. And then five turned into seven, and seven turned to 10. Whoa!

Final question, what drives your songwriting these days? I mean, what types of topics draw you in or interest you enough to write about?

John Schlitt: Jesus Christ. That's the only reason I write. Now, when you say that you have to have stories, sure. I try to use every story as an uplifting adventure in being a Christian. For example, with my album title, Go, what does that mean? Well, if you listen to the song, you realize that, as a Christian, we need to move forward. We need to go. The whole album is pretty much about going forward. We just can’t sit back and do nothing. That happened through three different producer teams. And it all came together. “Go” was the last song I wrote, because it needed to all come together. It was basically saying that Christians don't hide in the church. This is an instruction. When you are ready, you walk out those doors, and you need to be the tool God wants to use.

To Purchase The Adventure of the Scarlet Thread:

To Purchase Petra's The Hope album:

Watch the Trailer for the John Schlitt Documentary, The Journey: