Mapping early Christianity: Acts and the shape of early church history

It is no coincidence that the church in Luke's narrative bore the nickname 'The Way.' The Evangelist's 'mental map' of the early church's development is more fluid and open than the hierarchical model of later centuries.
The perception that we need a map to understand Luke's history of the church is hardly new. Every Sunday School Bible has its map of the 'Missionary Journeys of Saint [...]