Geoff Bullock – ‘Journey into Grace’
10am Sunday 18th January 2009

Geoff is one of Australia’s most prolific and successful songwriters. He has composed over 170 songs which have sold millions of copies in both CD and sheet music form; they are performed every week in dozens of countries and in several languages; millions of people sing those songs weekly in thousands of churches across many denominations.

In the 1990’s as Worship Pastor of the ‘Hillsong’ mega-church  and part of its founding team, Geoff oversaw its meteoric growth which paralleled the world-wide popularity of his music.

However such success did not save Geoff from his life and faith falling apart, as depression and serious relational problems developed at Hillsong and in his marriage. But through his ‘dark night of the soul’, God’s grace touched and gradually renewed him, opening a new understanding of God’s  amazing love and grace in Jesus. That transformation has also affected the lyrics of his songs and his theology of music in worship.

“I fear we have missed the point of Christianity. For many churches, it’s all about ‘me’, and that’s reflected in their worship.” says Geoff, who has re-written the words of some of his most popular songs to reflect a more Christ-centred perspective. “We tend to sing songs that are asking God to do things that he has done already, like ‘Lord let your presence fall’ when with the coming of Christ, that has already happened! We might say
‘I walk with Christ’. No, he walks with us. People are crying out for God without realising that he is crying out for us.”

“While I write songs that are about worship, they are not in themselves worship. It’s a bit like love songs. They aren’t love but about love. I think worship is far more our response and our meditation to being confronted by and receiving grace and forgiveness from God.”

Geoff, who has also written poetry and a few books, and will share his story in conversation and song at St Ives Baptist Church – 28 Memorial Ave. 10am, Sunday 18 January.