When you begin to study the history of the church, there is in some a tendency to wonder why. The New Testament alone is our authority for faith and practice. We don’t want the apostolic fathers to be our authority, and they should not be so. These were men like you and me; they made mistakes and said foolish things, just like you and me. But I believe that we have a compelling reason to spend a season looking at their lives and writings. One such reason is found in Philippians 3:17.