Geoff Bullock |
Zoe Elliot |
Ben Grace |
Journey into Grace Geoff is one of Australia's most prolific and successful songwriters. He has composed over 170 songs which have sold many hundreds of thousand 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. 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 Gospel Live. |
Zoe Elliot is a singer songwriter who is renowned for her fresh, charismatic and emotional performances. Her music ranges from fun and rhythmic to soulful, reflective and quirky. Her voice has a unique melting tone, however there is plenty of voice for her bigger bluesy songs. She captivates you with melodic, insightful, heart reaching story telling painted with imagery. Expect to be inspired, provoked and encouraged. Zoe has opened for Dragon, played alongside Declan O'Rouke, and won the 2GO Annual Acoustic Awards (2010) and the SongsAlive Showcase (2009). She peforms regularly around Sydney at venues like The Manly Fig, The Basement, The Manly Food & Wine Festival, World Food Festival, The Shack, Fairlight Folk, Lizotte's (Kincumber), The Merry Muse (Canberra), Beachfolk, The Old Manly Boatshed, Fair Trade Festival, International Women's Day Festival, The Sands, Harbord Hotel and is booked for the Manly Jazz Festival.
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Ben is a worship songwriter who has been writing, serving and leading worship for 10 years. He has contributed many songs to Christian compilation albums. Ben is passionate about hearing the church sing new songs of worship and has undertaken to mentor other songwriters through album recordings, workshops & youth group. www.bengrace.com.au Between 2005 and 2008 Ben founded, wrote, performed and recorded with Sydney indie band Happenstance. In January 2009 Ben decided it was time to follow his heart and his desire to release some of his original Christian music. 2 months later his song 'Alpha & Omega' grabbed the attention of Geoff Bullock's publisher, signing Ben before he'd recorded his EP. His debut single Lead Me Lord, based on the hymn by Samuel Sebastian Wesley, was released on 1st December 2009 to Australian Christian radio and rose to #1 on the Australian iTunes Inspirational charts. 'Alpha & Omega' recently won the 'Songs That Unite' competition run by the Uniting Church in Australia. Ben lives in Sydney with his wife Sara Ann. When they were married they decided together to change their surname to a mission statement: Grace. Ben is launching his new CD at Gospel Live with a little help from some musical friends -
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