James Noel, Professor of American Religion and the H. Eugene Farlough, Jr./ California Chair of African American Christianity at San Francisco Theological Seminary, is also a scholar, accomplished painter, renowned preacher, pastor and 7th dan Tae Kwon Do Master. Each livelihood informs and infuses the others in such a way that encounters with Noel are energetic when he is still and centered when he is active. Noel challenges boundaries whenever they threaten to obscure or resist truth, and students experience this in the classroom. His interdisciplinary method of scholarship aids students in investigating the ways in which culture creates and transforms individual experiences, everyday life, social relations and power. Noel has served as pastor at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Marin City, Calif., as well as interim calls at Sojourner Truth Presbyterian Church in Richmond, Calif., and New Liberation Presbyterian Church in San Francisco. His published works include Black Religion &