What does it mean to do something great?

For a lot of us, greatness is measured by how many people know your name. Teenagers are no exception — in fact, this understanding of greatness is probably strongest for highschoolers, who base most of their self-worth on what other people think of them.

It’s why so many teens want to be the next YouTube sensation. They think, “If Justin Bieber made it, why can’t I?”  They want to be known so desperately that they’re willing to pull stupid stunts — or even wreck their lives — in hopes MTV will come calling with a reality show deal.

The media reinforces this idea. A recent New York Times article titled “Gosh, We’re Bad Now!” highlights a coming-of-age ritual for teen stars: If they want to keep the limelight, they have to reinvent themselves.  Typically, this means  giving their otherwise wholesome reputations a mud bath.

The article cites a desire of these stars to show that they are “individuals, not automatons,” and that they are “multi-layered.” It’s as if being wholesome makes you irrelevant and stardom can only be reached if you’re willing to do drugs, have sex and take on more “adult” roles.

There is a crisis among teenagers, and sadly, when regular teens do drugs, sleep around and otherwise hurt themselves, there aren’t a host of publicists lined up to help them cash in on their trials. Regular teens are left to deal with the very real consequences of their decisions.

We are all wired with an awareness that we were designed for greatness. This awareness is what motivates teens to do whatever they can to be noticed.It gives us the incredible challenge of redefining greatness for teens, so we can channel that creativity and motivation into moving teens to change the world.

Global Expeditions Teenage Missionary Baja Mexico TripEvery year through Teen Mania’s Global Expeditions short term missions program, I get to see thousands of teen superstars give up any shred of glitz or glamour to bring hope to hurting people all over the world. These teens haven’t starred in the latest hit movie about high school drama. They aren’t mixing records with the likes of Usher. They may not have the limelight, but what they are doing is greatness defined.

Why are they willing to extract themselves from our me-centered culture and sacrifice their all? Because they’ve heard the message that “God loves you, He believes in you, and we do, too. God has the most incredible, adventurous plan for you. Following God is the greatest ride of your life, and it is what you were born to do.”

We dare to ask American teenagers, who are so wrapped-up in “self” they can’t even see straight to go, give their lives away. We believe they can do it. And every year, year after year, they do so in the thousands. Why? Because we believe in them, and God believes in them. We’re not begging them to go; we’re inspiring them to go.

We believe that these young people break the mold. We get them out of the culture long enough where they’re giving their lives away serving the poor, learning to have character, and finding their purpose, that they come back again, and again.

I am blessed to see teens year after year who are defying Hollywood and refusing to be culture automatons. They can have all of these materialistic things blasted at them, and they’re not impressed by it. They’re not impressed by the singers and stars, because they’ve had their outlook forever changed. They’ve been inspired to change the world, and that’s exactly what they are doing. This is true greatness.