What picture pops into your mind when someone says the word, “church”? Is it a picture that quickens your pulse and stirs your blood? Or, is it a picture more likely to encourage a snooze? Is it characterized more by excitement and adventure? Or more by dullness and predictability?

If we are talking about the first century church, those questions are easy to answer. Those first century Christians became so excited about their message that onlookers accused them of being drunk. They became so energetic about their mission that they were labeled “troublemakers”, and they were thrown into prison or killed. And, despite their small numbers and limited resources, they were so filled with the Spirit that they “turned the world upside down”! Wherever the church was, something significant was hap…