5:00 PM Pre-Lecture Reception. We invite you to attend a pre-lecture reception in the Winn Center prior to the annual Presler Lecture.

Untangling and Reframing the Web of Politics, Social Justice, and the Spiritual Mission of the Church

Dr. William Yoo will be at Louisville Seminary to deliver the lecture in person with an option for remote participants to join virtually. Registration is required whether attending in-person or online.

About the Lecture

In 1813, the Black abolitionist and pastor Lemuel Haynes appealed to Jesus Christ and asked, “Was not our blessed Lord a political preacher?” Throughout U.S. history, Christians across various ministries and social justice movements engaged politics as a means to fulfill the spiritual mission of the Church. Other pastors and theologians urged Christians to refrain from politics and social justice. And many Christians seeking social justice nonetheless held complex views of the relationship between faith and politics. In this lecture, William Yoo presents a pathway for Christians to clearly understand this web of politics, social justice, and spirituality and prescribes insights for the unfolding mission of the Church in our politically charged climate today.

In addition to being an accomplished author, teacher, preacher, and scholar, Dr. Yoo is a Louisville Institute Dissertation Fellow (2013-2014). Prior to the lecture, join us in the Winn Center lobby for a light reception hosted by Louisville Institute, a Lilly Endowment Inc. funded grant based at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

View printable pdf.

About Dr. William Yoo

William Yoo is Associate Professor of American Religious and Cultural History at Columbia Theological Seminary. He has published books on African American Christianity, Asian American Christianity, Presbyterian history, and the histories of Indigenous rights activism and abolitionism in the United States. His book, What Kind of Christianity: A History of Slavery and Anti-Black Racism in the Presbyterian Church, received the 2023 Award of Excellence from the Religion Communicators Council. His most recent book is Reckoning with History: Settler Colonialism, Slavery, and the Making of American Christianity. He is presently conducting research for a book project on Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Movement.

As a teacher, preacher, and scholar, Yoo focuses on the history of racism in American Christianity. Yoo is a professor and public theologian who interprets the most challenging and urgent issues of racial justice with clarity, depth, honesty, and precision. His conviction is that deeper engagement with history aids us in more faithful and effective participation in our present ministries exhibiting God’s love, justice, grace, and righteousness. When studying the development of Christianity in the United States, he is motivated to find both beautiful moments of awe-inspiring faith and ugly episodes where it is difficult to discern the divine presence. He is a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and a member of Cherokee Presbytery. He previously served on the Board of Directors for the Presbyterian Historical Society and presently serves on the Board of Directors for the Montreat Conference Center. William and his spouse, Sarah, a middle school educator in Atlanta Public Schools, reside in Decatur, Georgia with their two teenage children and two cats.

About the Presler Lecture

The Henry H. and Marion A. Presler Lectureship was established to honor the couple’s missionary service and to inspire the Louisville Seminary community and its wider community about issues of global mission and the role of American denominations in their historical and present witness to mission. The topics of the lectures vary, but the overall theme is Jesus Christ’s commission to the church in Matthew 28:19–20, to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” Dr. Henry Presler studied for two years at Louisville Seminary and then transferred to Boston University School of Theology. In his later years he remembered his formative time at Louisville Seminary and left a bequest for this lectureship. View prior lectures here.

*This event may be photographed and/or recorded. By registering and participating, you understand that your image may be included in the recorded video or still photography, and you consent to this and its use in any and all media throughout Louisville Seminary and its partners.

Untangling and Reframing the Web of Politics, Social Justice, and the Spiritual Mission of the Church

2025-26 Presler Hybrid Lecture presented by Dr. William Yoo