Former baseball player Juan Pierre retired as one of the most feared base stealers during his time in the Majors. A World Series Champion with the Marlins in 2003, Pierre played for six teams in 14 seasons, stealing 614 bases to along with 2,217 career hits.

Pierre now works as an on-air analysis for the MLB Network and spoke on The Calling with Christianity Today about how Christians should view greatness.

“Greatness in the athletic world sense is like you being exalted to your best degree, which is nothing wrong with that,” Pierre said on The Calling. “But, in the kingdom to be great God said you are called to serve. Who serves that is who’s going to be the greatest in my kingdom. The washing of the feet. I love that because it’s cut and dry.”

In 2009, as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Pierre came to faith in Christ during spring training of the season.

“I went to chapel at that time for eight straight years and that day I finally heard the word,” Pierre said on a Christian Hip-Hop Video promoting his shirt ‘Beast Mode for Christ’ with Lampmode and Humble Beast Records. “Everybody knows that when you hear that word it cuts through you and that’s exactly what it did to me. And that spring training I gave my life to the Lord and my life has never been the same ever since.”

Dodgers Juan Pierre in a 2009 Spring Training game. (Photo Courtesy: Christopher Paquette/CC License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode)

From there Pierre put his newfound faith to work, partnering with Neighbors 4 Neighbors Adopt a Family Program with his wife Liz in 2010. Pierre took 10 families on a holiday shopping spree for groceries and gifts at Walmart.

“It’s something that we have a passion for and my wife has a huge passion for,” Pierre told WFOR-TV in Miami. “Faith is what we’re about, and when we see the kids faces and all of that, we’re happy.”

Pierre spoke more further about balancing a life of service as well as being a husband and a father at home.

“It’s all missional,” Pierre said on The Calling. “It’s easy for us to have a ‘family night.’ But what if this person doesn’t have anybody? You have to invite them over. Which invades on your territory—but this is what God calls us to do.”

All of the work Pierre does, is so that people would emulate him by serving others and most importantly, help lead people to Christ.

“We’re the only way to make an invisible God visible,” Pierre said on The Calling.