Vijay Krishnan on Interior Work In An Exterior World, Questioning What We Accelerate, and Innovation with Intention
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Vijay Krishnan, Pastor of The Well Church in Toronto, joins Jason this week for a discussion on what the church might look like coming out of the pandemic, his personal ministry journey, and the development challenges pastors are facing these days.
Vijay’s journey into ministry was not a straight path, but instead included multiple years working in marketing for a large food retail brand before stepping into the lead pastor role of the church plant he was a part of. The tension he experienced of loving and giving his all to the church plant, but then heading to work on Mondays struggling to find motivation, eventually pushed him to make the change. The church had struggled a bit since inception, however Vijay felt a strong sense of calling to stay and build into the community.
Like all pastors, Vijay has spent the last year wrestling through what the call of a pastor is and where the church might be heading. As he has reflected on it, one thing is clear, we need to not just say that the pandemic is an accelerator, but should be cognisant of what is actually being accelerated. One observation he’s had is that technology, although a support and opportunity in many ways, is also furthering distilling down what the gathering of God’s people is. This isn’t new however, for years we have been moving to more and more sermon and singing centric services that exclude most other practices or expressions of faith. With technology, Vijay says as pastors we are now seeing this pushed to its limits as people engage in short online sermons and listen to recorded worship.
The question we are scared to ask as church leaders is why would someone be a part of our church if that’s all it is? Can’t they find those resources elsewhere? This is why the incarnational, embodied experience has only heightened in importance for Vijay and their church coming out of this.
Finally, Vijay shared about the challenges he is experiencing and seeing others struggle with living a public-facing life, but wanting to have a deep interior life. As pastors, we have never faced more tension to invest in the visible parts of our leadership, but it can leave us neglecting the most critical parts. He has fought to, especially this year, dig deeper into his heart, past, and emotions to ensure he can lead people from a place of health.
We hope you enjoy this week’s conversation with Vijay Krishnan!
“The future is perhaps coming back to some things we’ve lost in church history or finding new ways to bring out what embodied presence and a more robust experience of worship looks like.”
Vijay Krishnan
Vijay Krishnan is the Lead Pastor of The Well, one church with 3 congregations in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada. Vijay began his career working in the Toronto business community for 10 years doing CPG and Retail marketing. During that time, he helped launch The Well and in 2009 transitioned into the Lead Pastor role. Vijay is passionate about seeing the unchurched, de-churched and post-everything people of the GTA come to know and love Jesus. Vijay, his wife Jenn and their three boys are thrilled to be in ministry in the local church. Vijay’s other passions include playing sports with his kids, listening to loud music, reading crime novels and snowboarding the mountain-less terrain of Ontario.
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Episode 62: Kevin Myers & Brett Ingersoll
Kevin Myers has been married for nearly forty years and has four children and two grandchildren. Kevin is the senior pastor of 12Stone Church, one of the largest churches in the United States. A gifted communicator, influential leader, and strategic thinker, Kevin planted the church in 1987 and has grown it to eight campuses. Kevin mentors pastors and church planters, speaks at churches and businesses around the country, and serves on the General Board of the Wesleyan Church as well as the Wesleyan Investment Foundation (WIF), a nonprofit corporation that assists churches with capital needs.