Faculty Directory

Sangyil Sam Park

Professor of Preaching

Core Doctoral Faculty
At the GTU since
2006
(510) 841-1905 x242

Teaching Statement:

I believe that seminary class is a lab in which our faith and scholarly work come together on equal levels; any lecture or debate not emerging from one’s faith makes it hollow, and any endeavor to keep one’s doctrinal or dogmatic stance not allowing a critical evaluation makes it irrelevant to today’s multifaceted world. Today’s world asks us more desperately than any time before to have open minds, love, and tolerance toward those who are different from our own in culture and faith tradition. Theological education is an opportunity in which we learn together to grow both in faith and academic discipline to meet the needs of such a desperate world. A United Methodist preacher for 25 years, I enjoy the privilege of being in a pulpit; I cannot imagine myself not in the pulpit each Sunday. But this holy office of preaching always comes to me as something new and challenging. As a preacher, I consider my class teaching as a part of my ministry with an understanding that this is a highly academic training. I would like my students to broaden their understanding of preaching and improve their practical skills of exegesis, sermon development, and forming their own theology of preaching in a variety of contexts.

Degrees and Certifications

PhD, Graduate Theological Union, 2004
MDiv, Drew University, 1994
MTh, Methodist Theological Seminary, Korea, 1991

Research and Teaching Interests
  • Preaching Theories 
  • Prophetic Preaching 
  • Preaching in Interfaith World 
  • Narrative Preaching 
  • Theology of Preaching
Selected Publications
  • Paper presentation: “The Relationship Between Sermon Form and Theology: Does Theology Affect Sermon Form?” (설교유형과 신학의 관계) at the 71th Conference of the Korean Society of Practical Theology, Feb 15-16, 2019. Inchon, Korea.

  • “Public Theology and Preaching in Korean Protestant Churches,” Review and Expositor. Vol. 114. No. 3, 2017.  

  • Book Review: “Marvin McMickle, Be My Witness: the Great Commission for Preachers,” Review and Expositor. Vol. 114. No. 4. 2017. 4. Preaching in the 21st Century (21세기 설교학) edited by Sangyil Park and Byung Joon Hwang. Seoul, Korea: Olive Tree Press, 2014. 5. "Speech of Hope: Prophetic Preaching" Review and Expositor. Vol. 109 No. 3. Summer, 2012. 6. Korean Preaching, Han, and Narrative (New York: Peter Lang Pub. Co, 2008)

Courses Taught
  • Contemporary Preaching Theories
  • Prophetic Preaching 
  • Transformative Word 
  • Theology and History of Preaching 
  • Preaching the Gospels