Q. What exactly is the Omega Institute?
A. That’s a funny question, considering the fact that when we registered for our domain names years ago we discovered that there was already a holistic health center (rather “New Age-ish”) with the same name. It reminded us that any name can really refer to anything. There was, of course a reason we gave this parachurch ministry the name we did. It is an Institute because we teach – using many methods and means, our passion is to get the truths of the Word of God into the heads and hearts of people, so they can truly appreciate its richness and power. We are not a school that grants degrees or certificates — we emphasize the layperson in the pew and his or her need to have in his or her possession materials that bring the Word of God to life for them. The Omega part of our name refers to two things: (1) this ministry is the culmination of a vision the Lord gave me when I was still in Bible College; as the Omega is the final letter in the Greek alphabet, so this is the final piece of the vision. (2) Omega also stands for that which is ultimate – as a Christian Education ministry, our goal is to be the final word in Christian Education. This goal does not reflect a competitive spirit as much as it keeps the bar high for our staff as we seek to do all things with excellence for the King of Kings.
Q. You speak of giving the layperson an appreciation for the Word of God. Isn’t this the local church’s job?
A. Absolutely! Having planted and pastored a local church for almost eighteen years now, I have a tremendous appreciation for the teaching ministry of the local church. In fact, I believe that the primary role of the church in the life of the believer is teaching in some form (equipping, training, discipleship, mentoring, etc) However, the local church has long recognized that there are certain teaching functions that are best served outside its four walls.
Q. For instance?
A. We have classically trained our Pastors, Missionaries and Christian workers in para-church teaching organizations called Bible Colleges and Seminaries — we have sent our children to Christian Colleges and Universities (also para-church organizations) and visit en masse thousands of conferences and seminars to equip, encourage and inspire our people in various enterprises for the kingdom of God. We contract Christian publishing houses to provide our churches with curriculum for Sunday Schools and Vacation Bible Schools and Children’s Churches as well as for our Youth Groups and Children’s Ministries.
Q. Where does The Omega Institute fit into this para-church universe?
A. There are thousands of folks sitting in churches nowadays who need a more structured and user-friendly format than Sunday morning or Wednesday evening to really get to know the message of the Word of God and how it relates to real life. It is our conviction that being vaguely familiar with the Word, or just being exposed to a few Biblical principles, no matter how true, for thirty to forty minutes once a week, can never substitute for a lifestyle of "being diligent to present ourselves approved to God … rightly dividing the Word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15)
Q. Bible teaching seems more user-friendly than ever — What do you think is missing?
A. Depth – “user-friendly” can be a two-edged sword if we are not careful; I fear that most Christians are merely touching the tip of the proverbial iceberg in terms of knowing the Word of God the way God wants us to know it for the sake of easy, effortless learning in the comfort of the sanctuary or church classroom.
Q. Can’t that be seen as trying to create "cerebral" Christians?
A. It can … until we consider that back in the fourth century; the “man on the street” was able to meaningfully discuss what we would call “deep theology” without the benefit of a college or university education. Folks simply knew more about the things of God and enjoyed Him more deeply because they thought more deeply about Him.
Q. What has changed today?
A. What is ironic about the Omega Institute is that we seek to use the very thing that has changed the rank and file Christian’s ability to think and act effectively as an Ambassador for Christ — the media. In effect, we, at The Omega Institute, would like to turn the media on its head the way the media turned the world upside down.
Q. How so?
A. I think most folks are aware of how media has affected us as a society, and most of it is negative. Because we have become accustomed to thousands of images and bytes of information coming to us at light speed, our ability to truly reflect or digest information both cognitively and emotionally has been severely compromised. People do not read or create nearly as much as they did in the past – as a result, we are becoming a society that feels first, and thinks later.
Q. Why is this a problem — didn’t God give us our emotions as much as our minds?
A. Of course — but the Word of God is first understood (mind), then reacted to (emotions) and acted upon (will). If our emotions and actions are not linked to an accurate, meaningful understanding of the Word of God, they will be as compromised as our understanding.
Q. How does Omega help with this?
A. Our mission is to make the Word of God “DEAR” to every believer. We seek to accomplish this through four goals designed into all our materials and live events — they form the acronym D.E.A.R. By these four goals we seek to:
(1) De-mystify: A lot of folks are scared to go deeper into the Word — we look to take the mystery out of the Biblical message by acquainting the student with the world of the Bible as well as making difficult concepts easy without sacrificing depth.
(2) Excite: In our age, doctrine and theology are seen as boring and irrelevant — however, nothing could be further from the truth. The more deeply you know someone you love, the more excited you become in understanding the ins and outs of how to relate to them and how wonderful they are! The short history of the Omega Institute has been one of consistently witnessing laypeople getting excited about the deep things of God.
(3) Apply: Our motto says it — We bring “Real Truth for Real Life”. We are not looking to give application first then stamping a verse or two at the end of it — this puts the cart before the horse — we want you to really know the Word and the application becomes more obvious… and natural. When you know the Word, you find it hard to forget the way in which you apply it in various life situations, and that application is not as mechanical as a bullet pointed list — it flows from a heart and mind that knows its God.
(4) Retain: Through the use of our unique learning systems you can ensure that what you learn you do not lose. When you learn with Omega, you use, not lose!
Q. How does Omega use the media to turn it on its own head?
A. We want to meet folks where they are – let’s face it: ours is not a society that reads and reflects – but God did not give us His truth in the form of a DVD or CD. Jesus is not called the eternal picture – He is the Word and God has given to us His written Word so that we would possess a medium through which we would be able to repeatedly go for counsel as well as reflect upon through study and mediation. How do we get post-modern man into the Word more richly as well as exposing him to the best preaching/teaching/fiction etc. that has come from the Church of Jesus Christ over the past 2,000 years? We begin with the media and then, through the emphasis of D.E.A.R., we get Christians ready to enjoy a lifetime of rich exploration into the truths of God’s written Word and the best of Christian literature.
Q. What difference does this make in the life of the Christian?
A. It brings us out of the realm of thinking little and hence: acting little. When we think little thoughts about God we accomplish little things for the Kingdom. We live in an age where big buildings, ministry empires and vast budgets are seen as doing big things for God. However, the greatest Christians, according to Jesus, will not be counted among the new breed of Christian celebrities – they will be mates and parents and elders and deacons and teachers who faithfully live out the power of God’s truth and reflect the heart of the God they know intimately. Their families and ministries will reflect the measured character of a mature believer, not the trendy but unstable dynamism of today’s spiritual hype. Consider the history of just the past 100 years of the Church – either God is constantly doing something "new" and cannot make up His mind, or the Church is desperately seeking something that will compensate for her lack of foundation in the fundamentals. It’s time for the Church to grow in the ways the Spirit commands in the Word, not the Church Growth "experts" dictate, else our successes be yesterday’s news.
