Gordon Shepherd and Gary Shepherd: Talking with the Children of God

In Talking with the Children of God, sociologists Gordon Shepherd and GaryShepherd present a case study about The Family International, a secretive and oftenmisunderstood religious movement that has overcome decades of hostile attacks and scandals to spread internationally.The purpose of the book is to understand the ways in which the developingleadership of a heretical religion can produce a successful religious movement, reaching a certain level of stability and continuity for new generations of believers.Emerging out of Southern California and originally known as Children of God, TheFamily International arose from the Jesus People movement of the late 1960’s.Family members share a religious calling to witness and save souls with a belief inan imminent apocalyptic end to humanity. Now a worldwide movement, the Family’s total current membership is about 10,500. A foundational belief of the Family is that their staff members are gifted with channels in which they receiveprophecies to guide and justify Family practices such as proselytizing, communal living, and sexual sharing among consensual adults. They view Jesus Christ as the Family’s husband and lover, believing that when they are having sex with a fellow member, they are actually having sex with Jesus Christ himself.