Hi, I’m Phil Morgan … The Analog Pastor.
For the last 32 years, my wife Alli and I have been in full-time pastoral ministry. Over that period of time, technology has advanced exponentially, and the way we go about the work of God’s kingdom has evolved with it.
I think I’ve stayed reasonably current with tech trends, and I’m truly grateful for every innovation that has helped us leverage time and resources more effectively.
But I also know that newer ‘aint always better.
This generation has been discovering that truth in some surprising ways. The last few years have actually seen a revival of “analog over digital”, and numerous books and magazines have appeared to celebrate that. Who’d have thought that our kids would fall in love with vinyl records, paper journals, 35mm film cameras, and board games?
I Didn’t Have to Be Convinced
I’ve always had a love of older things: I’ve always been a history buff, I’d still rather hold a real book than a Kindle, and I’m an incurable stationery geek. I love fountain pens, wooden pencils, paper notebooks.
If you follow this blog, you’ll find me passionate about those things. Let’s talk!
But it’s also MORE than mere ascetics.
The Analog Pastor
Today we have some of the largest churches in history. We can beam our message live across the whole world, and engage people in conversations on social media. I rejoice in all of that. (Check out our church YouTube Channel.)
I fear, however, that it has come at a regrettable cost. The church was designed for and built on real relationships, but we’ve too quickly, too often, sacrificed the “personal touch”. What I like to call “tactile ministry”. Face-to-face, hand-in-hand, word-of-mouth.
I’d been thinking about these things for a long time, when I made an unexpected discovery. It started when a letter arrived for me in the mail. A messy handwritten letter, on crumpled paper.
Who hand writes letters anymore?
Prisoners do.
Rewind two years. A man started attending our church, and came to faith in Christ. His life began to change as he read his Bible, made new Christian friends, and joined one of our small groups. It was wonderful to watch him growing spiritually week by week. And then … his past caught up with him.
He ended up in prison serving a two year sentence. And that’s when he began to write me letters.
When I got the first one, I was struck by how special it felt to get it. It was so personal. This man had invested some time creating it and mailing it. Receiving it was nothing like getting an email.
So, instead of firing up my laptop and typing a quick reply, I decided to keep it analog with my friend. I wrote back in long hand with one of my favorite fountain pens on some nice paper. He had to write by hand … I chose to.
Boom … Game-Changer!
I wasn’t quite ready for the response my letter would get. My friend wrote back again almost immediately. Apparently my handwritten letter had done the rounds in the prison. It seemed to speak in a way that a typewritten letter never would have.
That started a whole new avenue of ministry for me. I continued my prison correspondence, but I also started penning letters to congregants and missionaries. Again, I could not have been prepared for what happened next. It was amazing. People read my letters with an attention that they never would have given to email or even phone calls. And they appreciated getting them.
Since then, I have dug deeper into the whole idea, reading old books full of the correspondence of famous people and Christian leaders. It’s been a revelation. AND, it’s led me back to some other ways of doing “analog ministry”. Hence, The Analog Pastor.
One more thing …
My Handwritten Bible Project
In 2019, while preparing to preach through the gospel of Mark, it occurred to me that one way to really get into the book in a fresh way might be to copy it out word-for-word by hand. I wondered how long that would take, and if I’d have the time and stamina to finish it, but I got started anyway.
That one simple decision started me on another remarkable journey. I could not have imagined the powerful impact that handwriting the Scriptures would have on me and my own spiritual growth. Since then I’ve continued to copy the Bible, making it an almost daily discipline. I’m slowly working on completing the entire text of all 66 books; my own handwritten copy of God’s Word.
But it’s not the long range goal that’s so important. It’s the daily doing of it that is impacting my life so wonderfully.
Join Me?
This blog is a place for me to share what I’m learning, and to encourage others to welcome more analog experiences into your life.
Slow down. Be deliberate. Enjoy the doing of things again.
- Write someone a letter
- Start a journal
- Give copying Scripture a try
- Buy a record player?
And if you’re a fellow pastor? Hey, you can be The Analog Pastor too. Get inspired, and come on in, the water’s fine!
(By the way … have you taken the 30-Day Challenge yet? Download the free workbook.)
And Personally …
If you’re interested, here’s a little more info about me and mine …
- I’m married to the amazing Alli (33 years).
- We have a growing bunch of kids … Ben (30 … and married to Alyssa), Sam (28 … and married to Delanie), Bethwyn (26 … and engaged to Matthew) & Ewan (21 … and dating Morghann). PLUS a gorgeous granddaughter, Haven Kate, and a hefty grandson, Jack William. We are also usually loving a foster child in our home and hearts too.
- I serve as Senior Pastor of Brookfield First (Assembly of God), Brookfield, Connecticut.
- I’m Welsh by heredity … English by birth … Australian by citizenship … and American by residency. Put all of that together and it means I’m basically from the Great State of Confusion.
Our crew:
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