By Tony Peterson

What were you doing ten years ago? Back when the calendar rolled over from 1999 to 2000, Toy Story 2 was the most popular current movie and Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace had dominated the box office for much of the year. The New York Yankees had swept the Atlanta Braves in the World Series. The St. Louis Rams were about to defeat the Tennessee Titans in the Super Bowl. The Los Angeles Lakers were streaking towards the beginning of their three-peat under the leadership of Shaq and Kobe.

At this time ten years ago, Bill Clinton was president. George W. Bush was the son of a former president and governor of Texas. Few Americans had ever heard the names Barack or Obama. President Obama was then an Illinois state legislator. Sarah Palin was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska. Osama bin Laden was not a household name, because 9/11 had not yet happened.

As the year 2000 dawned, Y2K was the scare threatening to shut down the economy, the government, the entertainment world, and our very livelihoods. Many people didn't understand the details that had worried computer experts and weren't aware of all the work that had been done to prevent such a catastrophe. While some ignored the threat altogether, others built bunkers, stored food, bought generators, and preached about impending doom. In the end, the diligent efforts of the few prognosticators and computer programmers who actually understood the threat were able to prevent that disaster. We were all breathing easier this time ten years ago.

Since that scare, we have seen some unpredictably tragic events. Some of the biggest news stories of the decade have included the 9/11 terrorist attaks, the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, genocide in the Darfur region of the Sudan, the Virginia Tech shootings, and the financial crisis of 2007-09.

Time magazine called the '00s "the most dispiriting and disillusioning decade Americans have lived through in the post-World War II era." But the news hasn't all been bleak. The past ten years have seen impressive advances in technology and medicine. And we can look back on all the times when people banded together in response to tragedy by giving blood after 9/11, raising money for victims of the Asian tsunami, and rebuilding houses in New Orleans following Katrina.

Our Scriptures tell a story that, much like the past ten years, is full of ups and downs. While the "downs" (slavery in Egypt, the exile in Babylon, the Crucifixion, among others) seem overwhelming on the surface, the Bible also tells of a God who never leaves us alone. The Lord is involved in our personal lives and in the affairs of the world, inviting us to grow closer to god and to join God in changing this world for the better.

Many youth were in preschool or kindergarten when the decade began. Seniors in high school were only in second grade. But even at such young ages, they were already forming ideas about God, the church, and the world around them. The events of the past decade—international, national, and personal—have shaped these ideas.

Spend time with your youth this week looking at some of the differences between ten years ago and today and how things have changed over the past decade. Look at the world, the teens' views about God and the church, and the teens' roles in the world. Then look into the future. How might the world change in the next ten years? How might we change? How can we make a difference that reflects Christ's vision for the world?

From the January 3, 2010 issue of LinC (Living in Christ)