Usually when I meet someone for the first time, they ask me whether or not Bubba is my real name. Often people make strange comments like, "You don't look like a Bubba" or, "I had a dog named Bubba." I don't really know the point of these comments; maybe people are trying to be funny, or maybe they're just making small talk. Either way, I have been dealing with this all my life, but unlike the "Boy Named Sue," I don't really care what people think of my name. All that to say, Bubba is my real name. I was born and raised in Oklahoma, and yes I do come from a long line of hick nobility. I grew up in the Oklahoma City area which is considered to be part of the Bible belt. For those unfamiliar with that region, I'll explain. Seattle is known for being a city that loves coffee: there's a coffee shop on just about every street corner, and, for many Seattleites, drinking coffee is part of their lifestyle. In the Bible belt--in Oklahoma--there are church buildings just about on every street corner, and most Bible belters would consider Christianity to be a part of their lifestyle (e.g. they go to church). Whereas most people in Seattle enjoy and understand the culture of coffee, however, most people in the Bible belt aren't really Christians. They call themselves Christians but they don't know Jesus and they don't understand the Bible. This type of hypocrisy can be confusing for a kid growing up. I didn't know who God was. Even though I grew up in the Bible belt, I didn't grow up in a Christian home, and didn't regularly go to church services. As a young man, I lived in gross sin and was very angry. Around the age of twenty, I reached an impasse: either God existed--which would mean there was meaning in life--or God didn't exist and life had no meaning. I had to know whether or not God existed, because if He didn't then I planned to cause as much trouble as possible and destroy everything I could. Because I'm a logical person, I couldn't destroy anything without first trying to know God. So I asked God to reveal Himself to me. I figured I needed to make some effort, so I took a world religion class in college and started to learn about the different religions of the world, hoping to find God. The more I learned about religion, the more I disliked religion. I didn't find God in religion. Around that same time I felt God calling me to read the Bible, but I didn't want to because I didn't like the idea of being a Christian. I didn't like the Christian stereotype and I didn't want to become a mindless robot. Still, I needed to be well informed before coming to any conclusions about God, so I started reading the Bible. While reading the Bible, God blew my mind and exploded my heart. The Bible was completely different than how I thought it would be. The more I read the Bible, the more God revealed Himself to me. The more I learned about God, the more I understood that I was a sinner. The more I understood my sin against God, the more I realized I needed a Savior to forgive and redeem me. As I read the Gospels, I met Jesus and He changed my life forever. I can remember being overwhelmed that God loved me--a horrible sinner--enough to send His son Jesus to live a perfect sinless life and die on a cross for my sins. Jesus rose from death, conquering Satan, sin, and death, making it possible for all who come to Him in faith and repentance to receive forgiveness of sins and new life. At the age of twenty, Jesus forgave me of my sin and gave me a new heart for a new life. Jesus became my God, my Savior, my redeemer, my Lord and King. Jesus changed everything. The young man full of anger and wanting to destroy everything was humbled and given a new life full of meaning and purpose. In 2001, I married my lovely wife Shelly and we moved to Seattle because we felt called to this area but didn't know why. Two weeks after being here we attended Mars Hill Church for the first time and instantly knew Jesus had called us to Seattle to be a part of Mars Hill Church. I completed a non-paid internship at the church before coming on staff as a deacon in 2003. I never thought I'd be a pastor, but at the end of 2004 Jesus called me to serve him as an elder of MHC. After going through the eldership process, I became a pastor/elder in 2005. As a pastor of MHC, my role is interesting because I function much like a bridge between the big picture and the practical details of our ministry. I help lead the vision and strategic direction of the church as part of the Executive Elder team and Board of Directors. I also have the privilege of being the Ballard Campus Pastor and Equipping Center Pastor. As Ballard Campus Pastor I oversee and lead the Ballard Campus. As Equipping Center Pastor I lead the other campus pastors. A big part of my role is making sure all the campuses are unified and working together for the mission of Jesus. My vision for my area of responsibility is pretty simple. I want to see as many people as possible know and love Jesus as their God. I plan to personally keep focused on Jesus, living a life of faith and repentance and, by God's grace, I hope to help keep our church focused on Jesus and keep our mission His Gospel. I want to see thousands of people who don't yet know Jesus meet Jesus and experience the same grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness of sin that I have experienced in Jesus. I want to see the people of MHC mature in their faith and live as worshipers of Jesus. I plan to help equip thousands of Christians to be on mission for Jesus and live as missionaries for Jesus. I believe God plans to work in and through our church to reach tens of thousands of people for Jesus, and God desires to see each and every Christian grow to maturity in their relationship with Jesus. Update: At the end of 2008, Pastor Bubba Jennings resigned from the Executive Elder team in order focus on his role as Ballard campus pastor. Visit Mars Hill Ballard's website to keep up with Pastor Bubba and the Ballard team.