At a time when the call to imitate Jesus comes loaded with moralistic overtones, Jason Hood offers a refreshing look at imitation on the Bible's terms. Drawing our attention to the practice that Paul taught "everywhere in every church," Hood's study yields insights into Scripture, the church fathers and Christian culture.

The primary source of disagreement in the religious world is a departure from the New Testament pattern given by the apostles, with churches relying instead on opinion for authority in religious practice and doctrine. By abandoning the apostolic original Christ's church has been left behind, producing today's debate and division. The only way to achieve the unity Christ prayed for is a return to the pattern He gave through His apostles. What is that pattern, how is it gleaned from scripture, and how is it applied in the 21st century? Rogers shows that by letting the Bible speak for itself, employing the same methods to interpret scripture that were used in New Testament times, a clear set of expectations emerges: a blueprint for the church's faith, practice, and purity. All who follow it will stand shoulder to shoulder with the first-century Christians: teaching for doctrine only what they taught, organizing as they were organized, and worshiping as they worshiped. The apostolic pattern is thus a blueprint for Christian unity, the only ground upon which everyone may stand with complete assurance that all they do is pleasing to God.