I’m Phil Whittall — a pastor, church planter, and writer based in Stockholm, Sweden. I’ve been writing here at The Simple Pastor since 2006.
I lead Grace Church Stockholm, a church I helped plant, and I write about what it means to follow Jesus faithfully in the 21st century — without pandering to consumerism or confusing western values with kingdom values.
The skinny: runner, reader, grateful husband to Emma and father to Noah and Anna.
What you’ll find here
The Simple Pastor has three main streams:
Articles and essays — I write regularly on church planting in post-Christian Europe, faith and technology, living well in a consumer culture, and questions of sex and gender. Not sure where to start? Try the Start Here page.
Book reviews — I read a lot. There are over 180 book reviews on this site covering theology, history, culture, and fiction.
The Curiosity Index — every week since 2015 I’ve published a curated list of the most interesting things I’ve read across faith, culture, science, and ideas. Browse the archive.
The name
I chose “The Simple Pastor” when the convention was to give blogs their own names rather than just your own. I’ve become quite fond of it. I’m a pastor without too many airs and graces, interested in the spiritual discipline of simplicity and a simpler way of life. Several of my friends also think I’m quite simple — which works too.
Connect
Follow along on Bluesky, X, Instagram, Facebook, or Goodreads. If you enjoy running, find me on Strava.
Have a question? Get in touch.
Extended Biography – so if you’d like to know a little more then read on.
I was born in 1975 in Ipswich — which explains why I’m an Ipswich Town supporter. I grew up a pastor’s kid in Broadstone, Dorset, where my father led the local Baptist church. In 1989 our family moved to Shrewsbury. I was 14 and not happy about it. I changed churches, rediscovered my faith and, for the most part, haven’t looked back.
At university I studied theology at Nottingham — not particularly diligently, but I made wonderful friends who have walked with me ever since. The Christian Union played a significant part in those years. I also dislocated my shoulder playing American Football for the Nottingham Outlaws, which had rather more long-term consequences than anticipated. I’m a fan of the Miami Dolphins.
After university I trained as a Religious Education teacher, then after shoulder surgery changed course and spent several years with Tearfund — working in London, nearly a year in Burundi, and three months in Kosovo before a second operation.
After that second surgery I spent a year back at my home church in Shrewsbury — washing up, locking gates, and establishing conclusively that I am not a worship leader. I was then asked to consider church planting, said yes, and planted what became Hope Church, Shrewsbury. Sadly Hope Church closed its doors in 2022.
As a way of responding to the tensions between faith and consumerism, I co-founded a network for simpler living called Breathe.
For several years I worked as a trade journalist — on The Jeweller, and on magazines first called Release and then Enough (about social justice), and for many years Christian Marketplace. I also invested in Illuminate, a Christian bookshop in Shrewsbury, which was bought out by a trust in 2010.
In 2013 I moved to Stockholm to help plant Grace Church. I’ve been here ever since.