Both parties have largely ignored the black vote until the last six weeks of the campaign. Many black voters feel like the other woman in an affair. They are jostled from place to place and forced to wait in the shadows. Promise after promise is made but few promises are kept. While both Republican and Democratic parties are married to others, they still tiptoe to her door at midnight. Loved only for what she can give, the black voter has got to ask, “At what price will I sell my love?”

The new black church is helping the black community rise above the devalued lover syndrome by recommending that she end her longstanding, tawdry affair with the Democratic Party. An uncompromising generation of black Christians is emerging. These people are bold enough to dream that they can help create a just and moral America.

The average person believes that the black community will always vote for Democratic candidates solely on the basis of personal, economic reasons. This is a shallow generalization that takes into account neither the sophistication nor spirituality of the contemporary black voter.

A new poll released on October 19 by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies shows that President Bush may receive over 18% of the black vote, double the percentage of the 2000 vote. This poll is startling to some people, but I have been predicting that at least 20% of blacks will vote for Bush for several months. The two reasons for the shift in black voter pat terns are the changing needs of middle-class blacks and the deep spirituality of a critical mass of black Christians.

The sophisticated black voter has observed the policy neglect of the Democratic Party in recent years. To make things worse for the Democrats, the emerging black middle class also consists of professionals and entrepreneurs who have an economically based political agenda very similar to their Republican peers. The only difference between many black suburbanites and their white counterparts is that their consciences are still sensitive to cries they hear coming from the ghetto.

In addition to the migration of middle-class blacks from the Democratic Party, the black church will once again be instrumental in coaching the African-American community on its spiritual and civic responsibilities. The “new” black church has become very vocal about same-sex marriage and abortion. The source of my opinion lies in the primary research in a newly released book entitled “High Impact African-American Churches.”

This book, which I co-authored with Dr. George Barna, gives the clearest description of the “new” black church. The new black church is a high-impact church that is producing high-impact leaders and dynamic congregations. Its members are evaluating contemporary society with a Bible in one hand and a laptop in the other.

The laypeople attending these churches have a strong reliance upon faith as a coping mechanism in the face of prejudice and personal adversity. Some 47% (nearly half) of African- American adults are born-again Christians, despite their denominational affiliation. More likely than other people to view their life as a gift from God, they are the ethnic group most fervent in claiming the promises of God for personal endurance and perseverance in life.

The new black church is seen as the dominant place of refuge and community. The new black church also has conservative views on abortion and same-sex marriage. It is not an accident that an increasing number of blacks are planning to vote very similarly to their white evangelical Christian counterparts.

There are those in the black community that believe they are a voice for all blacks. Yet we live in a rapidly changing world in which the demographics, needs, and desires of the black community are changing. New statistical studies show that the black community is no longer monolithic-one size fits all. It is vibrant and diverse.

The Reverend Jessie Jackson and the Reverend Al Sharpton are no longer authentic voices for the entire African-American community or its clergy. There is a new black church community emerging and here to stay. These new black church members still revere and honor their clergy. They expect them to help them integrate their faith with contemporary life. For blacks, it’s a new day led by a new church, and many will vote for a new party.

Bishop Jackson is the senior pastor of Hope Christian Church in College Park, Md. He is co-author with George Barna of the new book, “High-Impact African-American Churches.” www.thehopeconnection.org.