Tyshawn Gardner
Associate Professor, Preministerial Scholars Director
Howard College of Arts and Sciences
Biblical and Religious Studies
221 Chapman Hall
agardner@samford.edu
205-726-2336

Tyshawn Gardner joined the Department of Biblical and Religious Studies in 2022 as an associate professor and the Director of the Preministerial Scholars Program. Previously he served as the senior pastor of the Plum Grove Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, as the vice president for student affairs at Stillman College, and as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Alabama and at Beeson Divinity School. He is also a U.S. Navy veteran who served in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

Gardner earned an undergraduate degree in business management at Stillman College, an MDiv at Samford's Beeson Divinity School (with the Most Distinguished Student honor in his graduating class), and a PhD in Christian Preaching at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. His first book, Sacred Anthropology: Prophetic Radicalism for Pulpit and Pew, (Fortress Press, October 2022) and his forthcoming textbook, Social Crisis Preaching: Biblical Proclamation for Troubling Times (Broadman & Holman Academic, March 2023) continues the scholarly focus of his graduate studies. His research focuses on the theological, social and ethical dimensions of preaching. He is passionate about teaching preachers to address racism and injustice through biblical preaching and practical theology. He has also published several essays and book reviews. Gardner is a board member of the Evangelical Homiletics Society.  He is also a member of the Academy of Homiletics and the Society of Biblical Literature. He enjoys an active preaching and lecturing schedule in preaching conferences, churches, colleges and seminaries across the country. 

Gardner’s history of community service includes serving as President of the Tuscaloosa Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) from 2016-2019, former Disaster Relief Coordinator for the Alabama Missionary Baptist State Convention, as the founder and CEO of Citizens Impacting Community Association, Inc., as an advisory board member for Elevate Tuscaloosa Cultural Arts and Tourism, and also for the Martin Luther King Jr. Realizing the Dream Committee at the University of Alabama.

When he is not at work, he enjoys a good movie or Netflix series, reading, attending or watching sporting events, and spending time with family in addition to entertaining friends and family with his wife.  He is married to Shonetay Gardner.  The Gardners have four children and three grandchildren.  

Degrees and Certifications

  • BS Stillman College
  • MDiv Beeson Divinity School, Samford University
  • PhD The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Awards and Honors

  • Omega Psi Phi Citizen of Leadership Award 2017
  • Stillman College, UNCF Alumni of the Year 2017
  • Beeson Divinity School, Most Distinguished Student 2014

Recent Presentations and Preaching Conferences

  • The Beauty of God: Preaching, Worship and the Arts Conference, Beeson Divinity School- October 2022
  • The Gathering, Hope College, Holland, MI- October 2022
  • Contending for the Faith- Brown Baptist Church, Southaven, MS- April 2022
  • Lenten Preaching Series- Cathedral of the Advent, Birmingham, AL- April 2022
  • COVID-19 Trauma: Social Justice Approaches to Healing Communities from the Impact of Racial Discourse and Disparities- University of Alabama, March 2022
  • The Transforming Word Preaching Conference, Grace Institute, Grace Baptist Church, San Antonio, TX
  • African American Preaching Conference, Truett Seminary, Baylor University, September 2021

Recent Publications

  • Social Crisis Preaching: Biblical Proclamation for Troubling Times, B & H Academic, Publish date March 2023.
  • Sacred Anthropology: Prophetic Radicalism for Pulpit and Pew, Fortress Press, Publish date September 2022.
  • “The Literature of Preaching,” Handbook of Contemporary Preaching, ed. Michael Duduit, B & H, 2021.
  • Book Review, “Sunday’s Sermon for Monday’s World: Preaching to Shape Daring Witness,” Sally A. Brown. Homiletic, 2021.         

Publications

  • Preaching Magazine, Fall Issue 2020, Article, “Call and (no) Response: Virtual Preaching in the COVID-19 Era.”
  • 2020 Evangelical Homiletics Society, October 15, 2020, Paper Presentation, “Beginning with the End in Mind: Redeeming Social Crisis Preaching from Social Justice Idolatry”
  • Presbyterion, The Journal of Covenant Theological Seminary, Fall Issue, December 2018
  • A Book Review on White Awake: An Honest Look at What it Means to Be White by Daniel Hill
  • The Chronicle, Selma University, November 2017, Fall/Winter, “Faith and Scholarship: A Powerful Merger”
  • The Chronicle, Selma University, May 2017, Spring/Summer “With Power and Persuasion: The Beauty of the Black Preaching Tradition”
  • The Chronicle, Selma University, January 2018, Fall/Winter; “Preaching and the Relationship of Hermeneutics and Exegesis”

Research

  • Expository Preaching
  • The African American Preaching Tradition
  • The Black Church
  • Kelly Miller Smith, Sr.
  • Social Crisis Preaching

Involvement

  • Evangelical Homiletics Society, Board Member
  • Society of Biblical Literature
  • Academy of Homiletics
  • Martin Luther King, Jr. Realizing the Dream Tuscaloosa, AL