Talking Points with President Woodford: Faithful in Doctrine and Mission

The Church is called to be faithful in doctrine and mission. Both flow from Christ Himself. Our Lord did not merely command the Church to maintain sound teaching; He also directed His Church to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19). Likewise, St. Paul exhorts Timothy to “guard the good deposit entrusted to you” (2 Tim. 1:14), but also declares, “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!” (1 Cor. 9:16). In other words, we must both get the message right and get the message out.

Faithfulness in the LCMS has always meant more than preservation; it means proclamation. Our church body was planted on these shores to gather scattered Christian families and reach the indigenous populations through faithful preaching and teaching of God’s Word.

Thus, being faithful means congregations and pastors rightly guard the purity of the Gospel and the proper administration of the Sacraments. However, if they lose zeal for the lost, retreat from outreach, and become satisfied with decline, that is less than faithful.

Two Priorities

The Lutheran Confessions clearly tie these realities together. The Augsburg Confession defines the Church as “the assembly of saints in which the Gospel is taught purely and the Sacraments are administered rightly” (AC VII). Yet the Gospel is not a museum piece kept hidden within the sanctuary. By this pure Gospel the Holy Spirit is given and is the one who “creates, calls, and gathers the Christian Church, without which no one can come to Christ the Lord” (Large Catechism, II, 45). In other words, the Church is missionary by nature because the Gospel itself is missionary.

Sadly, in corners of the LCMS today there’s a growing temptation to split faithfulness from proclamation. A tendency to reduce faithfulness primarily to liturgical uniformity or ecclesiastical repristination on the one hand; or on the other hand, the opposite extreme to abandon the liturgy in the name of cultural relevance and create a user friendly “worship experience” for the sake of mission.

Some seem to give the impression that genuine orthodoxy means exclusive adherence to the Lutheran Service Book, Divine Service Setting Three, the one-year lectionary, and a narrow selection of historically preferred hymns.

Certainly, the liturgy matters deeply. The LCMS has never been without the liturgy. It is part of our heritage, our identity, and our confession of Christ. Reverence, beauty, sacramental theology, and continuity with the historic Church are treasures worth preserving. But faithfulness is not merely preserving one preferred expression from one preferred era. Such bias risks turning Lutheranism into a museum piece rather than a living confession directed toward the salvation of sinners.

The opposite trend among some gives the impression that the liturgy is too archaic and cumbersome to be relevant to modern people and is therefore not fitting for Christ’s mission today. Worship, this position holds, must reflect the broader cultural tastebuds to attract people and be faithful to Christ’s mission. Again, faithfulness cannot be reduced merely to preserving one preferred expression from one preferred culture. This bias turns Lutheranism into a mirror of the surrounding culture rather than a living confession directed toward the salvation of sinners.

Worship and Culture

The issue is not whether liturgy is good—it is—but whether liturgical preference is elevated above the Church’s missionary calling, becoming a law unto itself. Likewise, the issue is not whether cultural awareness is good—it is—but whether cultural preference is elevated above the Church’s faithful confession of Christ.

It’s always a balancing act: Confession without mission becomes self-preservation; mission without confession becomes accommodation.

Therefore, orthodoxy without evangelical zeal ultimately betrays the very Gospel it claims to defend, as does evangelical zeal without orthodoxy.

The goal, therefore, is neither rigid traditionalism nor restless innovation, but faithful proclamation—rooted firmly in God’s Word while directed outward toward the salvation of sinners. The Church must neither retreat from the world in fearful preservation nor surrender herself to the world in anxious accommodation. Rather, she is called to confess Christ clearly, administer the Sacraments faithfully, and carry the Gospel boldly into every generation.

Shrinking and Growth

Jesus Himself warns against inward collapse. He declares that the Father “prunes” the vine so that it “may bear more fruit” (John 15:2). But pruning is not destruction; it is preparation for growth. Sometimes congregations experience seasons of refinement, repentance, or even numerical decline. Yet it is a profound misunderstanding to assume that shrinking itself is evidence of faithfulness. Decline is not a virtue. Pruning is always ordered toward greater fruitfulness. A congregation or pastor content simply to become smaller, more isolated, and more insulated confuses preservation with mission.

This is why intentional outreach matters. In our district’s “Go First” initiative, we reflect an important Biblical principle: the Church cannot merely wait for the world to come to us. We must be willing to go first—to initiate conversations, build relationships, serve communities, be hospitable, and proclaim Christ boldly in a hostile, distracted, and disembodied culture. Such outreach does not require compromising doctrine. Indeed, true outreach depends upon doctrinal clarity because only the true Gospel saves sinners.

Preservation and Proclamation

None of this means abandoning reverence, historic liturgy, or doctrinal precision. Lutheran worship remains deeply rooted in Word and Sacrament theology. Congregations that have moved away from the liturgy are implored to return to it. The ordo—the basic historic order of worship—ought to be retained as our Confessions detail (AC XV, XXIV & Apology XV, XXIV), even as musical freedom is exercised. Yet we ought not view those who do not retain it as wicked or evil. They’re still part of our family. And families need to patiently talk together and intentionally hear one another out, while also rejoicing in what binds us together.

Even so, the Church should sing rich hymns, preach Christ crucified, baptize faithfully, and administer the Sacrament reverently. We must remember these treasures are given for the sake of sinners. The liturgy itself is evangelical. It proclaims Christ. It delivers forgiveness. It exists not as an artifact for preservation alone, but as a living means by which God brings salvation to people today.

Healthy LCMS congregations therefore refuse false choices. They reject both doctrinal compromise and missionary indifference. They recognize that confessional integrity and evangelistic zeal belong together. They understand that preserving the Gospel and proclaiming the Gospel are inseparable tasks.

The future of Lutheranism will not be secured merely by defending forms, nor will it be by chasing cultural relevance detached from doctrine. It will be secured by congregations and pastors who love both truth and people; who preach faithfully and reach intentionally; who cherish the liturgy while remembering why the liturgy exists; and who are willing to “go first” with courage, compassion, and confidence in the power of the Gospel.

In the end, faithfulness means remaining faithful to Christ Himself—His Word, His Sacraments, and His mission “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

In Christ,