As I pondered Jesus' words to his disciples in Luke's gospel just last month, "Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road," I was reminded of my wife's uncle offering this wisdom for travel: place your clothing in one stack and all the money you plan to take in another. Then, cut the clothing stack in half and double the money! To go on a journey into the unknown is anxiety producing. We tend to overpack and discount the cost.

To be a church leader in any time is to be a guide on a journey in search of hope, meaning and life purpose. Through our ordinations, we testify to our fidelity to Jesus as the wayn and strive to be shepherds in the likeness of the Good Shepherd.

In this season, our corporate journey is complex. We are traveling without a map. Indeed, our old institutional signposts seem to betray us. The institutional church has a reflex to preserve, protect and defend. As a bishop, I know this default response too well. But Jesus sent his first disciples empty-handed with a single-minded determination to move down the road. Like my wife's uncle suggested, we do well to take stock of what baggage (possessions) we carry as well as what the journey will truly cost. I seem to remember Jesus saying something about weighing the cost (Luke 14:28).

The Episcopal Church and this diocese are communities with abundant possessions and resources. Each of us, myself included, is apt to make idols of what we possess, to cling to things. As we lead the necessary change and reimagine the church, our conflicts will necessarily be about things, possessions and the cost of change. As we pray and discern, the renewed and refined church that God is calling forth in mission, we rightly ask, "What is our relationship to what we possess?" What will God's mission cost? For this journey we must travel lighter and be willing to spend more. To do so is both practically and scripturally sound.

There are no maps for this journey. We intuitively know that our beloved church will look and behave differently in the decades to come as we do Christ's ministry of witness, renewal, and reconciliation. Christ's presence and love is deeply needed especially now. And, so dear ones, let us continue to move forward together, supporting each other as we seek to follow Jesus in this curious and vexing age of mission.