Rob Flint

Focus…

Calling. Purpose. Dreams. Fulfillment.  These are words I hear again and again from students in our ministry.  They long to be a part of something bigger than themselves.  Students cry out for purpose and meaning in their lives.  The funny thing is, parents do too! But by the time we are adults we have learned how to mask the longing as we hide behind our children, jobs or the pursuit of happiness.

A while ago I read this quote;

For a Christian, our greatest fear should not be of failure but at succeeding in life at things that don’t really matter.

-Francis Chan

As I read this quote I reflected back on my life.  After overcoming the disappointment of not being in a boy band (yes – that was a serious dream of mine) and not ever getting to be a tuxedo-wearing spy (a less serious, but equally as fun dream of mine) I was able to truly pick apart what my heart was all about.  My purpose and yours is simply to embrace what matters.  This sounds simple enough, but what is it that truly matters?

In Acts 9:17-18 we see the very moment where Paul (formerly Saul) has regained his sight after his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus.  Paul’s conversion was dramatic, immediate and sincere. This was the beginning of something very real for Paul.  From here he went on to lead multiple missionary journeys, plant churches, disciple younger brothers in Christ and battle with a few Pharisees along the way.   Paul wasn’t consumed with finding his passion; Jesus simply revealed it to him.  Sometimes I think we need to be a little more oblivious like Saul (Paul) was.  Time and again I see people so consumed to find their passion they miss Jesus himself.  Passion and meaning have almost become an idol for some as they use Jesus to simply find their fulfillment in this life.  Simply said, Jesus is what matters.  He is our fulfillment and meaning.  In Him we have forgiveness, hope and purpose.

Jesus is not simply a means to an end, he is the end.  If we look closely at vs 17 again;

¹⁷ So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

For Paul, regaining his sight was the means to the end of making much of Jesus.  Sight was the first step; being filled with the Holy Spirit was the second.  I encourage you right now, where ever you may be as you read this, realign your sight with Jesus.  Stop the pursuit of temporary happiness and embrace the eternal fulfillment of Jesus.  Ask God to help you focus on what matters; Jesus Christ.

-Rob Jr.

Easter is coming.  It’s the time of year where we celebrate our Risen Savior; we come together to recognize our messiah – Jesus Christ.  People who wouldn’t normally darken the door of a church confidently (or begrudgingly) stroll in to participate in worship services across the world. There is even a movie about the Easter story – ‘The Passion of the Christ,’ it was a great movie but I would recommend it for the youngsters. Nevertheless, Easter comes and goes, and though the church does a great job of celebrating Easter; families too often let this important season pass by without a plan to help our children and students understand what Easter is all about.

As a way for families to actively engage in the Easter season, I have created a list of five opportunities for families to celebrate together:

1. Unpack the STORY – Too often I realize students don’t really understand facts of Easter.  Or perhaps they know the details of Jesus and the end of His life but they cannot link these facts with any significance to their own lives.  Easter is the time to help our children and students know what Christianity is all about: Jesus, his sinless life, his resurrection and our response to this.  There are many resources available at www.focusonthefamily.com   But I think the best way to help children and students understand is to let them hear your story parents; share your personal testimony with your family!  This can be powerful and a great lead-in to deeper and meaningful discussion.
2. Watch the Movie – ‘The Passion of the Christ,’ – it is a great teaching aide or reminder as to what the last few days of Jesus’ life may have looked like and what he most likely went through to pay the price for our sin.  As I mentioned above, it is intense and graphic – the movie is actually rated ‘R’ and rightly so.  However, for families with older students who want to see the Easter story this is a phenomenal tool.  I would recommend being prepared for discussion after the movie is over, emotions may be running high and questions are sure to come flowing out.
3. Create Space (the no cell-phone zone) – Plan something out of the box for Easter weekend.  Usually hotels run specials and retreat centers have deals, but just do something with the entire family that you don’t normally do.  Perhaps a picnic or a family visit to the park; or maybe it’s a family game night or time with all the phones, computers and television turned off.  Really, the point of this activity is to create space or margin so that families are ‘forced’ to talk face to face.  You might be surprised at the discussions that will happen when the electronics are all turned off.
4. Dine Together – Plan a special meal together; whether at home, out at a restaurant or even a picnic.  Breaking bread together is a great way to laugh, share details about life and engage with one another around the table.  And while you have the whole family in one place at one time you may even considering reading the Easter story together and talking through it.
5. Attend Service – Attach Service– Though this idea is closely related to #4 it is still worth mentioning; obviously we encourage families to attend a weekend service and here at South Tampa Fellowship we have options for you; Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday morning.  But regardless of what service you go to attach a family event to it.  A great option would be to serving together at a local ministry or simply helping a family in need.  Perhaps you could take an early breakfast to a family in need before Sunday morning services or a late night snack pack to a needy family after the Saturday night service.  Whatever you choose to do, the point is to serve and serve together!  We here at STF believe in this so much that we have cancelled Awana and EPIC that Sunday as to provide more time for families that weekend.

As with any new family tradition or just those moments when the whole family is together around a table moments can seem awkward or uncomfortable; I encourage you to push through the tunnel of awkward to get to some real conversation about Jesus – really there’s no better time of the year than Easter.  Happy Hunting!

-Rob Jr.

 As we prepare to dive into our new series at EPIC about dating and relationships I wanted to be sure to encourage our parents to be ‘in the know’ about our topics, discussions and our stance on dating in High School.  We are excited to discover with our student God’s design for relationships.  Check it out:

Dear EPIC Parents,

Valentine’s Day has come and gone but love is still in the air as we launch our new series at EPIC! I wanted to take a moment to inform you about the upcoming series with our High School students here at South Tampa Fellowship. It is called Facebook Official and deals specifically and candidly with relationships during the high school years. This weekend we kick things off with part 1 of our four week series. Here are the details for the remaining weeks of the series:

• February 24: Relationships
  Taught by Pastor Rob
  The relational phases of friends, crushes and significant others.
• March 3: The Relationship Equilibrium
  Taught by Pastor Rob
  What makes up a dating relationship? And why does it matter?
• March 10: The Guy Girl Split:

Guys – Living in a Sex Saturated Society. 

Taught by Pastor Todd Roberts

Girls – Image, Self-Worth and Jesus

Taught by Pastor Tom Fox & wife Tricia

• March 17: The Ultimate Goal & Question and Answer Time
  Taught by Pastor Rob
  If the ultimate goal of dating is a Godly marriage where do we  go from here? Followed by a Q & A time of questions directly from students.

We are greatly anticipating this series and we’re praying for scores of commitments and life-change regarding a Biblical understanding of relationships.

I’m sharing these insights with you so you will know what your student will be hearing, and so you can use them as launching pads for discussion. I also wanted to give you this “heads up” because I recognize some of you may not feel the timing is appropriate for your teenagers’ specific needs – if this is the case, please feel free to have them attend the adult worship service with you as appropriate.

Thanks for allowing our EPIC Student Ministry team to play a small part in God’s plan for your student’s life!

Rob Flint
Student Pastor

EPIC meets in The DI Campus 6:30pm Sundays

We had a great time with our parents this last Sunday night at the EPIC Parents Meeting!  If you were unable to attend here is the link to the podcast – PARENTS.  We talked about upcoming dates, family challenged and even discussed a Top Ten list of the challenges our students are facing today:

1. Busyness
2. Spiritual Apathy in the home
3. Alcohol abuse
4. Gospel Ignorance
5. Sexting/pornography – Apps like Snap Chat and Instagram should be monitored regularly
6. Self Image issues
   1. Check their social media

7. Dating & Relationships
8. The pressure to be tolerant and fit in
9. Daddy Issues
10. Stress – growing up too fast/ parental pressure

We are so excited and thankful that so many parents chose to attend and invest in the lives of their students!    J.C. Ryle wrote, “Youth is the seed-time of full age, the molding season in the little space of human life, the turning point in the histtory of a man’s mind.”  Or, in other words, what students will eventually become in life largely depends on what they become now.  The habits they are developing and embracing now are what they will live with long term. I am humbled by the parents who are taking this sentiment seriously!

We have some truly EPIC parents!

-Rob Jr.

On the heels of our exciting and encouraging EPIC Parent Meeting I want to remind our parents that we have our Family Assessment still available to be completed and filled out.  We truly value your input parents, and this is a great way to help us strategically as we lead your students.  The survey will take you less than 10 minutes and it will truly be of great service to us!

Click HERE to jump in and take the assessment now!

-Rob Jr.

Christmastime is hectic, intense and absolutely BANANAS – and I love it!  This time of year brings unique opportunities and timely perspectives that allow ministering to students to be different and strategic.  Here are my 5 faves:

5. Students are actually listening at Christmastime – they are looking for answers to their hurts and pains and they are ready to listen to the greatest story of hope ever told with eager ears!

4. Students are available - there’s no school, no homework (well at least no homework that the students are actually willing to do) but there IS availability. I am looking forward to getting our students away for a ski trip.  We will have a ton of fun building relationships and being challenged spiritually.

3. There is food everywhere!  One of the few times a year where, as a Student Pastor I get positive feedback is Christmastime and it usually comes in the form of food!  Cookies, gingerbread men, hot chocolate, Christmas cake, candy canes and my personal favorite Reese’s Christmas trees!  There’s no better way to say thanks than with treats!

2. Its just fun to share the Christmas story! I enjoy talking and sharing about the birth of our Savior and this year we talked specifically about the Star of Bethlehem and it was some really interesting stuff.  For those of you who have been asking me you can check out the info on the start here – www.bethlehemstar.net

1. The EPIC Snowball fight!  This year we switched things up from using icing in our snowball fight to red and green mashed potatoes and it was pretty neat.  It was a different material, different consistency, different amount and a different smell!! But the opportunity to shove a handful of something fun into a students’ face was just the same and all the more gratifying with the smell of the mashed potatoes!

I love Christmas and I think everyone should eat some mashed potatoes this Christmas!

This week has been a burdensome one for many.  From the very families at the heart of the tragedy in Newtown, CT to homes around the country and the world trying to make sense of this horrific tragedy.  In my position as Student Pastor I have had many students reaching out to me to ask questions and comfort.  The questions have ranged from, ‘How could God let this happen?,’ to ‘Is God real?’ and the most common, ‘What do we do now?’  These are good questions and people need answers as a way to process and work through their emotions and thoughts.

As I am sure you may be asking these or similar questions or others have been asking you these questions; I wanted to post links to some insightful articles for you or others around you:

Al Mohler – Rachel Weeping for Her Children – The Massacre in Connecticut

John Piper – How Does Jesus Come to Newtown

Jen Wilkin – A Day for Hatred

These are bit more difficult to digest but are nevertheless Biblical and relevant:

Justin Holcomb – Jesus and Violence Against Children

David Fairchild – How Do We Respond

I hope these articles can, in some small way, help you or those around you in this burdensome time. My last thought is this; I hope I never forget what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT or the emotions that have come along with hearing of the heinous acts that were committed there. I hope I never forget because it reminds me of the evil depths of sin and  my own need for our everlasting savior, Jesus Christ!

-Rob Jr.

I can already smell the turkey cooking for Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here before we can shake a fist full of candy canes.  I am excited!  I am always excited around this time of year.  We have the EPIC Christmas series starting soon.  We are going to Winter SWO for a crazy combination of skiing and Gospel challenges.  We’ll get to see Christmas lights and decorations everywhere!  I’ll get to spend time with my extended family and I will get to eat all the Christmas cookies I can get my mitts on!!

But beyond all this; I am most excited about seeing Christmas through my daughter’s eyes this year.  Technically this will be her second Christmas, but as she is a bit older, it will be interesting to see her interact with this Christmas wonderland around us.  We put our Christmas tree up a few days ago (I know its early-don’t judge!) and she is already wide-eyed as she inspects this new addition to our living room.  I can’t wait to see her reaction to the motorized Santa at Gram’s house! (again, don’t judge us!)

But before the hustle and bustle of the season begins to overwhelm us all; I have begun to wrestle with the fundamental question of every Christian household; How do I keep the Christ in CHRISTmas for my family? Or better yet; how do I maintain Christ as the absolute centerpiece of our family CHRISTmas? Well I have come up with a few ideas for what I can do as a Dad in my home to ensure that our Christmas centers on Emmanuel:

Dad’s, we need…

1. A PLAN for this Christmas. We set the tones spiritually, emotionally and relationally in our homes.  What is your plan to ensure this Christmas has the right tone in your home?
2. TO CHECK THE LOCAL GUIDES for opportunities to make Christmas memorable and intentional for our families.  For those of us in Tampa, here is a great online guide – CHRISTmas 2012.  Also, for Christmas Eve service times and locations you can check out www.stfchurch.com
3. TO CARVE OUT sacred family traditions.  Some of my favorite memories as a child are centered around the traditions my family shared at Christmas time.  I am excited to begin building my own family traditions in my home.  Some examples include; driving around on Christmas Eve to look at lights, helping mom bake cookies, helping dad put lights on the house(and try not to get killed in the process) and even reading Luke 2 every Christmas Eve – it was a big deal the year dad trusted me enough to read it to the whole family.  Traditions matter, especially when centered around the Gospel in our homes. Dads, how are you planning to create traditions with your family to celebrate Christ this time of year?
4. TO SAY NO.  This time of year, many of us will have the opportunity to do many things, we need to prioritize and do what is best for our families – even if that means saying to sweet Aunt Helen!!  What we say ‘no’ to is critical.
5. TO DATE! I want to use this time to take my girls on a nice Christmas themed date!  First my wife, then I want to have a daddy-daughter date.  Dads, even if you have sons, plan some time with them; students are out of school and it is a great time to engage with them.
6. TO READ the story of Jesus to our families.  And not just read it, but know it and soak it in.  This is the most important and celebrated event in our history; we need to take the time to help our families fully understand the weight of God entering time and space with His plan of glorious redemption.  Click HEREto check out some helpful online family resources.

-Rob Jr.

Hey parents! We have some news that we here at EPIC are pretty stoked about!!  First, this week’s EPIC Rewind is up and can be viewed HERE.  Over the past two weeks we have had different teachers sharing at both our Middle and High School services.  Our Student Ministry Resident, Chris Sullivan, has been teaching our Middle School students and our Student Ministry Associate, Shea Vosler,  has been teaching at our High School services.  Both have done a tremendous job and we value the opportunity for our students to hear from different voices at EPIC.  You can find the podcasts at TheStudentWebite.  And you can follow both of them on twitterl CHRIS & SHEA

Now, to the BIG NEWS!!!!  We have just released a Family Needs Assessment and we want to hear from YOU!!  It is a short survey – it will take you less than 10 minutes to complete, and it will truly be a tremendous help in allowing us as a ministry to more effectively serve and care for your family.  Click HERE to go directly to the survey and dive in!

Thank you for partnering with us.  We are thankful that we get to serve God with the families at EPIC!

-Rob Jr.