Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it. (Ephesians 5:25)
DOING IT GOD’S WAY — Dr. Albert Russell is the mastermind behind the awe-inspiring book, Agapao: Loving Your Wife the Way God Intended, a compelling, spiritually gut-checking written document that officially hit the market just last year.
For Dr. Albert Russell, his God-orchestrated vision had spanned a little more than eight years.
To his credit, though, once he grabbed a firm hold of it, he needed somewhere in the neighborhood of roughly a month to witness it come full circle.
“It was not a whole work though,” Dr. Russell during an interview this week with Making Headline News, said of his long-awaited published project. “When I revisited it in 2017, I learned that I had matured tremendously, and many of the topics warranted further treatment to make them more robust.”
The encounter to which Dr. Russell is alluding is his awe-inspiring book debut that was culminated with the much-anticipated release of Agapao: Loving Your Wife the Way God Intended, a compelling, spiritually gut-checking written document that officially hit the market just last year.
A book that was assembled while his then-wife (whom is now deceased) was deployed to Iraq, Dr. Russell’s Agapao: Loving Your Wife the Way God Intended appropriately explores the assortment of emotions that he experienced or, as he specifically recalled, “the transformation” that took place in his life and his commitment to ensuring that his wife, Danielle, would be secure in knowing his unyielding love for her.
“Agapao was written as a guide for couples, men who are looking to strengthen their relationships and for women who want a man’s perspective on marriage,” Dr. Russell explained in a detailed description of his book at https://www.aer251books.com/.
A book that has garnered favorable rave reviews even in its infancy stages, Dr. Russell’s passion to revisit his vision for composing his first book was spearheaded by his friend, Tori Walker whom, according to the author and ordained minister, kept “pressing” him to “put it out.”
“She was instrumental in getting me to clean it up and finish it so that it could be published,” said Dr. Russell, a native of Mobile, Alabama who currently resides in nearby Millbrook.
REMEMBERING DANIELLE — A book that was assembled while his then-wife (whom is now deceased) was deployed to Iraq, Dr. Russell’s Agapao: Loving Your Wife the Way God Intended appropriately explores the assortment of emotions that he experienced or, as he specifically recalled, “the transformation” that took place in his life and his commitment to ensuring that his wife, Danielle, would be secure in knowing his love for her.
Interestingly, Dr. Russell — though he’s less than a year removed from having witnessed the release of his premiere book that is available at Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited — acknowledged that other written documents are presently in the works, most notably a daily devotional called “Walk with Me: God Seen, God Heard, God Revealed: A 365 Day Devotional,” “Pushing through the Pain” — a project that’s geared largely toward how he has coped with the death of his wife — and a fiction book entitled “Breaking the Curse.”
“The children’s books are my way of passing a legacy on to my kids and to teach them about being entrepreneurial and developing revenue streams through doing something that they love, something that is not a burden,” Dr. Russell explained. “My daughter, Genesis, is the writer and my son, Donovan, is the illustrator and artist.”
THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR — A book that has garnered favorable rave reviews though it is in its infancy stages, Dr. Russell’s passion to revisit his vision for composing his first book was spearheaded by his friend, Tori Walker whom, according to the author and ordained minister, kept “pressing” him to put it out.
All things considered, Dr. Russell doesn’t shy away from the notion that, well, perhaps this what he deems “my season to write.”
“I have several other books, but they are all works in progress,” Dr. Russell said. “The devotional that I’m writing is getting most of my attention right now so I can finish it within the next few months.”
As for the divine message he aspires to send to his reading audience through his books, Dr. Russell said it all goes back to God, Whom steadfastly provides him daily with the sense of direction he needs to pass along to the masses.
“I believe that God is always speaking,” Dr. Russell said. “The message is a bit different for each book. Agapao is God telling husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church. It is directed toward men, because I’m a man, so that is the perspective that I speak from.
ADVANCING THE KINGDOM — As for the divine message he aspires to send to his reading audience through his books, Dr. Russell said it all goes back to God, Who steadfastly provides him daily with the sense of direction he needs to pass along to the masses.
“The devotional is God’s little daily nudge to us to remind us that He has not forsaken us nor forgotten us,” Dr. Russell continued, adding that Agapao is attracting constant favorable feedback. “Pushing is basically me preaching to myself and reminding myself that I’m not the only person who has ever suffered great loss and God reminding me (and others who can relate) that He’s a restorer. Breaking the Curse is a fictional work but, in my opinion, it is God reminding someone that they can do anything that they put their mind to.”
Because of the purpose and vision for which God created him, Dr. Russell deems it absolutely imperative to thank his Creator for the strength and ability to write — and to do it virtually routinely now.
WORKING HIS VISION — Interestingly, Dr. Russell, though he’s less than a year removed from having witnessed the release of his premiere book, acknowledged that other written documents are presently in the works, most notably a daily devotional called “Walk with Me: God Seen, God Heard, God Revealed: A 365 Day Devotional,” “Pushing through the Pain” — a project that’s geared largely toward how he has coped with the death of his wife — and a fiction book entitled “Breaking the Curse.”
Thanks in large part to a beloved friend, who helped “pressure” and steer him to his destiny.
“There are so many days that I don’t have the desire but God puts that fire in me and I push through,” Dr. Russell said. “I’m still grieving, so it’s a process, but I am remaining hopeful and positive so that I can continue to produce quality work. I also want to thank everyone who has supported me through this process.
“(I thank) my family and friends, my friend, Tori, for her constant encouragement and being a source of business ideas, my friend, Les, who has been a tremendous help with editing, my friend, Joy, who gave me some great initial feedback on the later draft of Agapao, my kids and my mother-in-law, who keep me laughing and encouraged, and my church family for their support.”
EDITOR’S NOTE:If you are an entrepreneur, business owner, producer, author, athlete, musician, barber, life coach, motivational speaker, cosmetologist, tax preparer, model, or pastor/minister who is seeking exposure and would like to share your story with an in-depth news feature, call Reporter Andre Johnson at 901-690-6587 or Facebook message him under “Andre T. Johnson” for details.
Andre Johnson is Founder and Publisher for Making Headline News. A 2000 graduate of the University of Memphis School of Journalism and a former staff reporter the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper, Johnson covers the NBA Southwest Division from Dallas, Texas. To reach Johnson, send email to [email protected] or to [email protected]. Also, follow him on Twitter @AJ_Journalist.
ABOUT ANDRE: Andre Johnson is a longtime sports journalist and a 2000 graduate of the University of the Memphis with Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism. A native of Memphis, Johnson is a former sport reporter Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper and Memphis Sport Magazine. He worked as full-time staffer for The Commercial Appeal from 2000-2002, in which he was the beat reporter for the Memphis Houn’dawgs of now-defunct American Basketball Assocation and the Memphis Xplorers of the arenafootball2 league. He has interviewed numerous sports personalities, most notably Archie Manning, LeBron James, George “Iceman” Gervin, Issac Bruce, Laila Ali, Vince Carter, Paul Westphal, Phil Jackson, Ken Hamlin, Cortez Kennedy, Michael Oher, Kobe Bryant, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Marc Gasol, Dwight Howard, James Harden, Patrick Willis, Stanley Morgan, Dirk Nowitzki, Rick Carlisle, Mark Cuban, Carmelo Anthony, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Rudy Gay, John Force, Lamar Odom, Alexandra Stevenson, Derek Fisher, Penny Hardaway, Phillip Rivers, Colin Kaepernick, Jim Harbaugh, Tyreke Evans, Kirk Ferentz, and O. J. Mayo, among others. To reach Johnson, send email to: [email protected]. Also, follow him on Twitter @AJ_Journalist.
Andre Johnson 
A book that was assembled while his then-wife (whom is now deceased) was deployed to Iraq, Dr. Russell’s Agapao: Loving Your Wife the Way God Intended appropriately explores the assortment of emotions that he experienced or, as he specifically recalled, “the transformation” that took place in his life and his commitment to ensuring that his wife, Danielle, would be secure in knowing his unyielding love for her.
A book that has garnered favorable rave reviews even in its infancy stages, Dr. Russell’s passion to revisit his vision for composing his first book was spearheaded by his friend, Tori Walker whom, according to the author and ordained minister, kept “pressing” him to “put it out.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: If you are an entrepreneur, business owner, producer, author, athlete, musician, barber, life coach, motivational speaker, cosmetologist, tax preparer, model, or pastor/minister who is seeking exposure and would like to share your story with an in-depth news feature, call Reporter Andre Johnson at 901-690-6587 or Facebook message him under “Andre T. Johnson” for details.
