Title: What Every Seventh-Day Adventist Should Know about The Shepherd’s Rod
Author: Garrick D. Augustus
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 9781491783986
Pages: 733
Genre: Religion
Reviewed by: Ella Vincent

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What Every Seventh-Day Adventist Should Know about The Shepherd’s Rod is an insightful and informative book about the divisions among the Seventh-Day Adventist church. Garrick D. Augustus has written a book that will enlighten readers.

Augustus is a member of the Seventh-Day Adventist(SDA) Church, a Protestant Christian denomination that celebrates their Sabbath on Saturdays. One believer, Victor Houteff, left the SDA, to start his own branch, The Shepherd’s Rod. After Houteff’s death in 1955, a power struggle ensued within the Davidian leadership, which created a division between the original Davidians and the newly formed Branch Davidians. That group is in infamy because of the tragedy in 1993 with Branch Davidian leader David Koresh and the ATF ( Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) department raid on a compound near Waco, Texas that killed dozens of people. Augustus writes about how the Shepherd’s Rod has been misrepresented by other SDA leaders. Augustus also challenges the beliefs of mainstream SDA ministers.

Augustus’ writing is very well-researched. He details the history of The Shepherd’s Rod and how Houteff spoke for reform within the SDA church. Augustus presents evidence from the Bible and other historical texts to support his defense of The Shepherd’s Rod. He is a longtime member of the SDA church that has deeply studied all branches of the faith. The book is lengthy but is well worth the read because of its insight into the SDA faith.

In addition to the historical perspective, Augustus writes about his own conflict with some SDA ministers when he tries to reclaim the tarnished reputation of the Shepherd’s Rod. Augustus’ writing is thorough and will help teach readers more about all aspects of his SDA faith. What Every Seventh-Day Adventist Should Know about The Shepherd’s Rod would be best for readers who are followers of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church who want to know more about the faith, as well as those desiring to know about how the Adventist church balances internal theological challenges against the religious liberty of its parishioners. The book would be ideal for SDA discussion groups and also for church debates between SDA and Shepherd’s Rod followers.

What Every Seventh-Day Adventist Should Know about The Shepherd’s Rod is a text that will educate many readers about a much-discussed, but misunderstood faith. Augustus has written a book that readers will find thought-provoking and educational.