First, I want to apologize for not writing you sooner. I have been trying to write to my constituents since the beginning of 2013.

I traveled over 100,000 miles again in 2012 right up to the 31st of December when I got back home in Kansas City at 10 PM New Year's Eve to enjoy the coming in of the new year with my family and friends.

Since that time I have been preparing and adjusting for this new year. I have been attempting to get some projects started and some projects finished before I start the ministry itinerary for 2013. One of the projects is getting my latest book published. I haven't attempted to get a book published for a few years, and to my surprise the publishing market has changed quite a bit. Many book publishing companies did not survive what they have called "The Great Recession," as many churches have also struggled during this critical time. This has resulted in publishers taking a new approach in book publishing which puts most of the risk in the authors hand and kind of reveals a greed incentive on the publishers part, and a motive more of profit than ministry and purpose.

Then technology has changed and also effected the book publishing industry. Most people don't go to the bookstores very much, many of which also didn't survive the "Great Recession." We are now in an era of electronic readers, I-Pads, I-Tablets, I-Phones and Android cell phones that facilitate many people's reading needs.

I find myself even as an established author, arm-wrestling with publishing companies, especially when the book that I have written challenges the status-quo and the biblical academic community. The working title of my book (which may change) is Black Characters of Purpose in Scripture, which is the first part of the thoroughly researched book. I trace the thread of how blacks in Scripture were used in very strategic moments in Biblical history as a part of God's eternal purpose. I also challenge how academia has a put a negative slant to most of the characters that are traditionally known as black, and many other black characters which are not well known. The second part of the book is us under the theme of The Bible and it's Many Black Characters. This book takes my best selling book, Chosen - Not Cursed to the 50th power. It is heavily foot-noted and researched.

I had thought that the publishing industry had opened up to teaching that related to the black segment of the Church that had been neglected by major publishers in the pass. What I have found is that for a short time period some publishers opened up to Black or African-American Bible Literature or books that identified the black experience of the church and that brought better understanding to all segments of the church. It was literature that helped bridge the gap of understanding among the races. However, that period was short-lived and most publishers went back to business as usual which basically neglected the black segment of the Body of Christ.

I don't understand why this happened except that the desire of a few in leadership in major publishers to reach out to black authors and their experience in the church for a season, didn't trickle down to their staffs and employees who had achieved success in their eyes without reaching out to the black segment of the church.

I find myself fighting and arm-wrestling with the same situations that I met over 20 years ago in the early 1990's. In my civic responsibilities as the chairman of the legal-aide and economic development committee of the clergy group in my city, we are again fighting problems that were temporarily settled 30 years ago, but are now back on the table -- one being race relations in our city.

There is such a need to be active with the gospel of the Kingdom of God and in a very bold and confronting way and cross into every man's world in the midst of a immoral society that has lost ground in "righteousness that exalts a nation."

The momentum in our steps toward the commission that the Lord has given to us for liberation must increase, and that can only happen with your help.

I remain, in partnership with you,