Moral Formation in Christian Worship

One of the contemporary Lutheran theologians that I have been very impressed by is Gifford Grobien, who teaches Systematic Theology at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, IN. He is also the current editor of the Confessional Lutheran Dogmatics series put out by Luther Academy Press. I recently stumbled across an article of his online on ethical formation in Christian worship. This article is essentially a summary of his doctoral dissertation which addresses ethical formation from a Lutheran perspective. Grobien shares many similarities with Biermann in utilizing Hauerwas as well as Luther’s two kinds of righteousness distinction (though Grobien prefers speaking about a “twofold” righteousness). However, unlike Biermann, Grobien emphasizes the foundation of the ethical life through union with Christ. He utilizes the Finnish writers in this regard, though he rejects their conflation of justification and indwelling righteousness.

The article can be found here.

Dr. Grobien is also currently editing his dissertation for publication sometime in the future.