About

I don’t really like talking about myself, but I appreciate that people want to know who this ‘Phill Sacre’ is and what he’s like. I thought it would be best to write this page up as a kind of ‘FAQ’ about me.

Who is Phill Sacre…

What’s with the name?

My surname is an unusual one – it’s originally huguenot. My ancestors were French protestants, they came here to flee religious persecution in the 1550s. The name would originally have been pronounced in the French way (Sacré), but it has been Anglicised and now it is pronounced to rhyme with ‘acre’.

What are your qualifications?

After school, I went to the University of Essex to get a degree in Computer Science. I then worked as a software developer for a few years. Ten years later, I ended up going back to Oak Hill college in North London to study Theological and Pastoral Studies before becoming ordained in the Church of England. (Although I am now no longer in the Church of England – see below!)

What do you do for a living?

I do not have a ‘traditional’ job. Everything I do is geared towards helping people understand and live out what it means to be a Christian. I run Understand the Bible, where I produce videos to help people grow in the Christian faith. I also keep a Substack (a mix of written articles and a podcast) called Sacred Musings, with a focus on trying to analyse and understand the world through a Biblical worldview. Someone described it as ‘making Christian thinking visible’, which seems about right to me!

Although I was ordained in the CofE, I left in 2023 (you can read a little about my reasons here) and have not joined another denomination. I feel that it is important to get ‘back to basics’ for church – that is, back to the New Testament understanding of church, which is not institutional. This is why I started Church with UTB last year. (You can see more of my developing thinking about church on Substack – here is Part One of the series called ‘Rethinking Church’)

I am supported through the generosity of people who value what I do – if you would like to support me, please do check out the support page.

What do you do outside of work?

There are lots of things I enjoy in life – primarily my friends and family, but also good food, good beer, good films and TV, good books, good music, good walks / cycle rides… Jesus talked about life “to the full” (John 10:10), and this is the philosophy I try to have: simply trying to enjoy life to the full every day.

I love music and have recently started producing songs for church which you can see on YouTube.

Disclaimer

Everything written on this blog, or posted on my YouTube channel, is entirely my own opinion and not representative of anyone other than myself.

I appreciate I often talk about subjects which are somewhat contentious in society. I do not wish any blog post or podcast to come across as being the last word on the subject, I appreciate I am not always right. Therefore, I welcome (polite) disagreement either here on my blog or in YouTube comments, or privately by email.