Speaker Selection

A Note From
Archie Luper, Executive Director
Church-Based Training International (CBTI)

All of our speakers are well respected church leaders within the world-wide community of churches of Christ and all are highly recommended. But we have come to realize that no matter how selective we are in choosing speakers who are rock solid gospel preachers and teachers, chances are that someone will not agree with a particular choice. I believe we have, in some cases, done a disservice to many of our brothers in Christ by circulating false perceptions that have no basis in truth. It seems that when anyone is involved in a work that is bringing about positive change and new souls into the Kingdom the devil hates it and will do anything to stop it. His favorite way to do this is to create enmity between fellow brothers in Christ.

We at CBTI have committed ourselves to being peace-makers and bridge-builders and such is the tone at all of our events. If you find the name of a speaker that you have heard something negative about or you have an issue with them we encourage you to contact them directly. The Bible demands it. If you are unable to find the information needed to call or e-mail them please e-mail me at aluperjr@hotcom.net and I will get you the correct contact information. If church leaders are not interested in finding out the truth about fellow brothers in Christ and building bridges with them, then I believe it is highly hypocritical for them to be out trying to build bridges with the lost in their community.

Unity is not an option. Jesus prayed for it in John 17 and said that reaching our world depended upon it. I believe we've spent enough time taking each other to task when we should be focusing on the real enemy, Satan, and redeeming a lost world from him. I believe the true restoration spirit urges we get along together and that each of us should go the extra mile to do what we can to bring unity to churches of Christ instead of, whether innocently or by intent, spreading false rumors about others.

Especially to younger ministers and church leaders who will be at the front lines in the future I ask you to consider whether or not the track that has been taken in the past has really helped the church, or has damaged the church, as a whole. I believe the track many have taken has not worked, that we have damaged the lives of many people in the process, and that millions of lost people have died without the hope of eternal life because we've been too busy with dissagreements between one another. It's got to stop. And if the future is going to be any different than the past it will depend upon you. You have to decide now what style of leadership will guide what you do and say in the future. My plea to you is to take the track that Jesus would take. Seek unity where division has prevailed. Seek healing where broken relationships exist. Seek peace in situations where the devil would like to bring hostility. Seek brotherly love where bitterness has dwelled for too long.

In saying these things I must also say that we are not interested in compromising the truth in any area of God's teaching. We are not interested in aligning with anyone who is on the "far left" in wanting to bring division to churches of Christ. We are also not interested in aligning with anyone on the "far right" who has caused division by needless criticism and ridicule of others. We seek a "middle-of-the-road" view that stands firm on God's Word and does so with an emphasis on the unity that Jesus prayed for, on grace that has been freely given to each us, on God's love that has been given to us even when we don't deserve it, and a realization that we are all sinners and deserve eternal punishment.

I thank God that he had a different plan for us. I thank him for the salvation we have through the blood of Christ. We must protect the wonderful riches we have in Christ and seek to restore broken relationships throughout the universal family of believers within the living Body of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.