Presented By:

21^st Judicial District Drug Task Force

Hosted By:

Centerville Church of Christ, Outreach Center

Classes begin on Wednesday evening March 14^th @ 6:00 PM.  Classes will be held weekly in the Outreach Center from 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM thru May 9^th 2012.

What an overwhelming success and so much public interest shown from our Fall 2011 Citizens Drug Academy! Almost 40 individuals attended and completed the class with a great encouragement to host this program again… and we are very glad to do so.    CCoC

Have you ever wondered, what’s the Drug Task Force and what is it they do? Wondering what it’s like to be an undercover narcotic officer or an Interstate Criminal Enforcement officer working America’s highways? This free academy is designed to educate residents, teachers, parents, grand parents, business owners and even police officers how your Drug Task Force operates and what is out there to deal with. This drug academy class will meet once a week for 9 weeks from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday evening with a brief devotional and light meal provided by the Church.

If you are interested in attending, please contact Pattie Dunning with the Task Force at (615) 790-2691 Ext 2198 to receive an application form.  Applications may also be obtained from the business office of the Centerville Church of Christ (729-4201). The application may also be obtained at http://www.drugtaskforce.net/drugacademy.html.  Application forms may be completed and mailed to the Drug Task Force. Class size is limited to 35 students and you must be at least 21 years old to attend.  Complete background checks, by the Drug Task Force, are required for each applicant.  Priority may be given to applicants who live and work in the judicial district. You will be notified by mail if you are accepted into the next Academy.  All applications need to be submitted by February 15, 2012.

Click here for an application!

Inspiration 2011 March 5, 2011 Dexter, MO

Bryan D. McAlister – Centerville, TN

(Song 8:4; Matthew 19:4)

• Today’s culture is no different from the cultures of yesterday, we like music.  Songs seem to express what other forms of communication cannot.  The song writing industry receives a great deal of our money, $65 billion dollars worth in 2009.  Lyrics and music have helped to shape our culture, express contemporary trends, and even suggest responses to the world around us.  Perhaps the most suggestive aspect from the music industry has come upon the world of love.  “Please Send Me Someone to Love” Percy Mayfield (1950).  “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” Shirelles (1960).  “Get Up” James Brown (1970).  1980 AC/DC declared, “You Shook Me All Night Long.” In 1990 Mariah Carey taught us, “Love takes Time.” In 2000 we were “Amazed” with Lonestar.  In 2010, Kesha explains, “Your Love is My Drug.” To one Song writer, we are indebted.  We owe him a lot actually.  His wisdom was from a divine source, and his ultimate conclusion was a superlative or a matchless statement, “vanity of vanities, all is vanity” (Eccl 1:2).  Just as there is a “holy of holies” (Heb 9:3) and a “heaven of heavens” (Deut 10:14), there is also a “song of songs” (Song 1:1).  There are 66 books we know to be different from all other literary works of man for one reason alone, while they were preserved on the written page they were first presented from the breath of God.  One of those books is described as the “song of songs” the matchless description of one of the most intimate parts of our physical lives, the journey to marriage.
  • Marriage is Purposed (Matthew 19:4).  Marriage is Pure (Matthew 19:5).  Marriage is Personal (Matthew 19:6). Could it be that if we can learn that marriage is all these things and more, it would stand to reason dating, could share in these same reasons?  Solomon’s Song is more than just words of poetry based in sensuality.  They are words inspired of God, for the way a man and wife should find themselves walking the path to the altar of marriage in any generation or era.  It should be noted, that not all who date must marry, but all who marry should date, in some relative sense of the term.  Thus we are not speaking in absolutes.  For the purpose of our time and discussion together we will presuppose that dating for our purposes will be with the intent to marry.  Should it not however, our time and journey through scripture will not come without merit for those who do not choose marriage.  These are God’s principles and they apply to all.
• If Marriage is Purposed, So is Dating – What some may call irony that Solomon, one who shared his life with 700 wives and 300 concubines; believers call inspiration, because this one man, so blessed with wisdom, yet blinded by the freedom of choice, wrote concerning the ideal scenario of finding one person to whom one should seek to be fully devoted.  As the stanzas of this song begin to play, we find The Shulamite Woman in the midst of a crowd of women, vying for the affections of Solomon.
  • Dating Does Not Determine You – “Rightly do they love you.  I am dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon. Do not look upon me because I am dark, because the sun has tanned me.  My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept” (Song 1:5-6).  There is so much emphasis placed today on looking the right way, dressing the right way, and being the right way, that if we are not, then how can we possible ever be attractive or appealing to other people?  If I’m not like everyone else I must not matter.
  • Dating Does Determine Who – “Tell me, O you whom I love, where you feed your flock, where you make it rest at noon.  For why should I be as one who veils herself by the flocks of your companions” (Song 1:7)?  If you want to learn about the life of another then you need to find the interest that is of another.  Seek out their preferences, their beliefs, their intentions and their view of living life.  “If you do not know, O fairest among women, follow in the footsteps of the flock, and feed your little goats beside the shepherd’s tents” (Song 1:8).
• If Marriage is Pure, So is Dating – “Do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases” (Song 3:5).  The world will tell you today, that in order to be compatible with another individual, you need to explore all ways and means of compatibility, including sexual behavior with one another.  Such crude analogies are made:   “You wouldn’t dream of buying a car without a test drive”, or “How can you possibly imagine being with one person and only one person for the rest of your life?” “You need to live a little before you settle down.  For men they sow their wild oats, for women they are easy or cheap.” Too much of the world has defined our lifestyle and we have more than muddied the waters when it comes to our practice of purity.
  • Dating Is For Waiting – The most recent statistics show that 10 out of 10 dating couples who practiced abstinence avoided std’s and pregnancy at the rate of 100%.  Over and over and over again the Song sings, “Do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases” (Song 2:7, 3:5, 8:4).   How do we do this?  Jesus suggested we examine our hearts first, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28).  How can that be?  Are men to never look at women, or women never to look at men?  The best description, “Whoever looks on ham and eggs to eat, has already committed breakfast in his heart.” This guides the one interested in companion friendship, and interested in unified marriage.  If you are dating and are sexually active, stop, because all you know right now is the physiology of the other, and the compatibility of two precious souls.
  • Dating is for Anticipating – The Song continues with vivid detail of the physical attraction between men and women, without apology, but with anticipation of fulfillment in marriage.  So there are dreams about the other (Song 5), there are explicit descriptions of the other (Song 6-7); there are intentions toward the other, “I am my beloved’s and his desire is towards me” (Song 7:10).  But there is respect for the other and for marriage, “Do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases” (Song 8:4).
• If Marriage is Personal, So is Dating – “Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is as strong as death, jealousy as cruel as the grave; its flames are flames of fire, a most vehement flame” (Song 8:6).  When we begin to intertwine our lives emotionally and personally with other people, we begin to take on a measure of risk.  Thus we need to respect the lives of others we date and respect our own life and soul while dating.
  • A recent article entitled, “They Can’t All Be Edward Cullen” described the trend of “Soul-mate-ism” where it was compared that our society at large desires that one perfect match, but is unwilling to work toward that end.  Instead, at the first sign of trouble, the relationship is abandoned in pursuit of “the right one for me.” 94% believe in soul mate.  42% believe it is important to find a spouse that shares your religion.  Did you notice that more people believe finding a soul mate is good, but only 42% believe in finding someone good for your soul?  Be honest; do not lead another person on.  Be respectful; if your love a person their soul will be more of a desire than their sensuality.  Be real, now is the time to encounter problems and work through them.  Date someone who wants to help your soul and not just hold your body.  Date someone who knows their soul’s value and wants to keep their relationship with Jesus secure.  Date someone who regards the covenant relationship with Jesus as worthy of honor.