Outside Speakers?

We pretty regularly receive offers from speakers and ministries to come and visit us at the Coastlands. A staff-member for a very well-known speaker whose offer I declined a couple days ago was perplexed. Here's the brief email I sent in response a couple moments ago:

Hello [Name]-

Thanks so much for your thoughtful and honest inquiry. Couple of thoughts:

• Our philosophy of ministry (briefly encapsulated by the words “Love, Mend, Train, Send”, you can read more here if you like) has a huge emphasis on raising up leaders and sending them out (as evidenced by the 36 churches we’ve planted in various parts of the world). Part of our culture is that we promote leaders and speakers from within and we very rarely invite ministry from outside our own family. This is not at all because we devalue or disagree with others’ ministry, theology, or philosophy. Rather it comes from the firm resolve that we have to fulfill our particular mandate to raise up and send out leaders.
• Another of our cultural values at the Coastlands is that of relationship. We tend to invite speakers with whom we have significant relationship and ministry connection / partnership. Again, nothing against the ministry-philosophy of an itinerant speaker like [name] (or the many other wonderfully gifted and fruitful speakers that the Kingdom is graced with). Their ministry simply doesn’t fit in well with the culture we’ve developed around the vision/philosophy God has given us.
  

I hope this helps you understand our perspective a bit. Please understand that we intend no insult by our decline of your offer. We celebrate you, her, and the great ministry God is accomplishing through your organization’s efforts. I also understand that many (if not most) churches would be incredibly blessed by your offer of help and that we’re a bit unique in our particular calling / assignment from the Lord.

With fervent prayers that God will bring great fruit out of all of our efforts,
Todd