Lessons learned: Know who you are

Jojo Thomas

The world is full of people trying to 'be the next Ohtani.'  What it needs is more people who have figured out how God wired them to make an impact. ”

Shohei Ohtani plays baseball for the LA Dodgers.  It’s not uncommon for him to hit 50 home runs in a season.  Also to drive in 100+ runs and steal 20 bases.  Not to mention starting 10-15 games as a pitcher & posting an ERA under 3.00.  So nowadays, LOTS of 8-year-old boys are dreaming of being the next Ohtani.  How could it be otherwise? 

But Ohtani is also a freak of nature.  The reason we marvel at his portfolio of skills is that nobody else in baseball has them – at least not all of them together.  So you have to wonder if a career like his is likely to be replicated.  And whether the best path for this generation of 8-year-olds really is trying to become someone they’re not. 

Somewhere along the way, the best players (and pastors) figure out who they are.  They quit trying to be great at everything, and hone in on a few places where they can excel.  That doesn’t mean they’re irresponsible, or that they totally ignore the things they’re not great at.  It just means they learn what it takes to make their best contribution.  Here’s what that might look like…

1. Gravitating toward opportunities where your unique gifts, strengths, passions, & experience can make the greatest impact, and saying “no” (despite more prestige, better salary, etc.) when it’s clear your strengths will be wasted.
2. Being disciplined & intentional about your own growth.  This always pays dividends, but it pays off biggest when you make extra room to work on your strengths.  
3. Celebrating the gifts & strengths God has given to others.  This means letting go of being jealous, and it means joyfully inviting others onto your team who can do what you can’t.  (Also giving credit when they do it.)
4. Capitalizing on new/emerging strengths.  Just because you don’t start out with a skill doesn’t mean you won’t develop it.  “Knowing who you are” also means understanding how your capacity grows over time.  As it does, it changes what your “best” contribution looks like.  Trust a mentor or coach to help you see it, and reshape the way you’re investing your time.   
5. Rejoicing in how God made you.  Barnabas didn’t get his nickname (“son of encouragement”) for nothing.  Most likely it came because God had wired him a certain way, and he embraced it.  The result was a ministry so remarkably effective that others couldn’t help but celebrate it.

The world is full of people trying to “be the next Ohtani.”  What it needs is more people who have figured out how God wired them to make an impact.  Work toward that, and watch what God does with the vessel He created & called. 

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Dr. G. J. (Jojo) Thomas served as the Associational Missionary Strategist for the Chattahoochee Baptist Association from May 2005 until his retirement at the end of 2025. Prior to his ministry with CBA, he served 23 years as the founding pastor of Annistown Road Baptist Church in Snellville, Georgia. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary with a Master’s of Divinity, and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary with a Doctorate of Ministry.