Hi, friend. I’m Jay.

I’m not a theologian, and these days I’m not a pastor. Mostly, I think of myself as a Mission Commander—someone who loves organizing, equipping and empowering people for a mission.

I spent most of my adult life as an Air Force officer, including years leading Mission Crews aboard AWACS aircraft and in NORAD’s Alaskan Air Defense Sector. We sometimes described AWACS as the conductor of an orchestra. We didn’t write the music or play every instrument. We helped everyone work together to accomplish the mission.

Later, I spent five years as an elder and executive pastor of a large church in Alaska. For the past decade, I’ve coached and trained leaders across the country.

But somewhere along the way, Jesus started teaching me something important:

His Kingdom isn’t an organization we’re supposed to command and control.

It’s wild. Creative. Diverse. Often surprising.

We don’t build it, control it or manufacture its growth. We recognize it. Receive it. Enter it. Participate in it. Bear witness to it.

That realization has required me to rethink a lot.

My wife, Sonia, and I have spent years gathering people in our home to follow Jesus together. And I’ve developed a particular affection for people who’ve been overlooked, underestimated or pushed to the margins—especially those who still have some fire in their belly.

Those are my people.

Maybe they’re yours too.

Jesus has always done extraordinary things through unlikely, ordinary people.

That’s what Dark Horses is about.

Tell us your story. Help us get to know you by introducing yourself to the network here.

Learn more about the Dark Horses movement here.

Read some helpful articles and find adiitional helpful resources here.

Jay Pullins has been leading and developing leaders and disciple-makers in a variety of settings for 40 years. He has a diverse background as a leadership coach, military officer, an appointed state official, and executive pastor of Alaska’s largest church.

As a leadership coach for Academy Leadership and Catapult Leadership Solutions, Jay has trained over 2,000 leaders in the last ten years, from Alaska to Southern California, in various fields from universities to military, construction, product distribution, government, manufacturing, telecommunications, energy, logistics, hospitality, non-profits, churches, banks, and a railroad.

A 1989 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, Jay led U.S. and multi-national teams for the U.S. Air Force, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), NORAD, and the Alaska National Guard for 23 years. He led combat crews as an Air Battle Manager in Operation DESERT STORM, the conflicts in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo, no-fly zones over Iraq, and counter-drug operations in Central and South America. Jay retired as an Air Force Lieutenant Colonel in 2011

Jay served as Chief of Staff to the Lieutenant Governor and Special Assistant to the Governor of Alaska. He also served as a church elder and Executive Pastor for six years. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Politicacience from the US Air Force Academy, and a Master’s Degree in Adult & Higher Education from the University of Oklahoma.

Jay and his wife, Sonia, live in Anchorage, Alaska, and have two sons, a daughter-in-law and two grandchildren.