“Oceans” Co-Writer Matt Crocker Opens Up About Hillsong Upheaval, Finding Rest and What Comes Next

Matt Crocker helped write "Oceans," a worship anthem about trusting God beyond the security of familiar ground. In a revealing conversation on Mature Me with Rich Wilkerson Jr., the Hillsong UNITED songwriter describes facing uncertainty himself: what happens when years of ministry momentum give way to confusion, quieter days and no clear plan?

Reflecting on the upheaval surrounding Hillsong and the disruption of the pandemic, Crocker acknowledges that the past several years have challenged his bearings.

"Definitely confused," he says when Wilkerson asks about the season. "There's times where I was like, man ... where do we look right now?"

He remembers the experience in Australia as "blow after blow," with developments arriving so frequently that there seemed little room to process one before another followed.

The conversation offers a personal account of how Crocker has responded. Alongside questions about ministry and the future, he describes a growing concern for his family, his spiritual health and the people immediately around him.

During those unsettled years, his family's home became a gathering place for friends.

"We became like the house where people would just come," he explains, describing the importance of looking after others and offering somewhere to rest.

That detail raises a searching question about ministry: when public activity slows, can hospitality carry the same sense of purpose as leading a room in worship?

For Crocker, caring for people appears to have provided something concrete to do while larger questions remained unresolved.

He also describes needing distance from the constant commentary.

"There's just too much noise," he recalls thinking. "I need to get out of the noise."

His response included stepping back from social media and seeking space to pray, reflect and recover perspective. He speaks of allowing himself to be "shaken and pruned," while remaining convinced that the work of serving the church matters.

Now living in Nashville, Crocker says his family enjoys the friendships they have formed there. Yet he does not present the move as a settled answer to every question about their future. Returning to Australia has also highlighted the depth of their relationships at home, particularly for their children.

Their wellbeing, he indicates, will help shape future decisions.

After roughly two decades of intense activity, he is learning to accept a season whose purpose may include rest.

"It's been a big ... 20 years," he says, suggesting that God may be allowing his family time to "gather ourselves."

For listeners accustomed to ministry stories built around the next release, tour or breakthrough, his willingness to wait is striking. Crocker describes feeling a renewed stirring without knowing exactly where it will lead.

The interview also places those reflections within a much longer history of wrestling with faith. Crocker recalls losing his older sister when he was 10, an experience that shook his family and prompted questions about God, death and what lies beyond it.

He credits his parents' example and his family's turn toward prayer with helping anchor him. Even decades later, he still wonders what life would have been like had his sister lived.

That awareness of time and loss gives weight to his reflections on turning 40. He is increasingly concerned with the next generation and the kind of church his children will inherit.

Supporting younger worship leaders, he suggests, requires confronting the insecurity that can arise when someone else's gifts draw attention.

"What matters right now is ... the presence of God in this place and the church," he says.

Crocker remains interested in creating music, including exploring further possibilities beyond his solo project Interlude. But he also describes wanting deeper roots in Scripture and greater intentionality with his family.

His reflections leave worship leaders with a question that extends beyond any single platform: if the next season brings fewer invitations and less visibility, what will still make the work worth doing?

For Crocker, the answer is taking shape through family, friendship, prayer and a willingness to serve before the future becomes clear.