Sam Funkhouser, a member of the Old German Baptist Brethren, New Conference, challenged approximately 80 attendees at a November 15, 2025, stewardship seminar to live in radical nonconformity to a culture deeply at odds with the gospel message of Jesus. Most of those who attended the stewardship forum at Harrisonburg Mennonite Church were Mennonites, but not all. One woman who wasn’t Mennonite attended and confirmed how relevant this was for all followers of Jesus.

Funkhouser presented with the conviction of a modern-day prophet. But with a twinkle in his eye and a smile, he said, “You invited me to come and speak.” Most at this meeting live like kings, he declared, and “Our standard of living is predicated on masses of people living in poverty around the world.” Funkhouser, with an MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary, used Scripture to warn against the dangers of wealth and read from a 1903 Brethren doctrinal book on nonconformity to tell the story of the rich man and Lazarus. Funkhouser concluded his call to sustainable living by reading Isaac Watts’ lyrics from an 1882 Old German Baptist Brethren hymnbook: “Come, let us search our ways and see, have they been just and right?”

Steve Pardini, Virginia Mennonite Conference Interim Chair, spoke from a scientific perspective about sustainable economics in the twenty-first century. Pardini, with a PhD in physical chemistry and an MDiv, encouraged seminar participants to consider the environmental advantages of driving electric vehicles rather than gas-powered cars. Then he explained why blue whales matter in today’s world. Europeans, with deadly harpoons and fast whaling ships, hunted blue whales to near extinction by 1900 for their blubber, a source of lamp oil, machine lubricant, and perfumes. But they are a vital part of the ocean ecosystem, eating krill and producing excrement that feeds plankton, which all sea life depends on. Plankton removes CO₂ from the atmosphere and releases O₂, benefitting the biosphere.

Pardini explained that while indigenous groups sustainably hunted whales for centuries, a warped sense of dominion over the planet nearly led to the blue whale’s extinction. Pardini has just released Climate Change and the Healing of Creation. This excellent 217-page book outlines a readable scientific and theological foundation for creation care, available for purchase on Amazon.

Over the lunch hour, table discussion groups enjoyed a “stone soup” stew made with chopped vegetables participants brought with them. And in the spirit of renewed concern over world neighbors in need, over $2000 was raised for the work of Mennonite Central Committee.

While the long-term impact of the seminar remains to be seen, attendees departed with a clear awareness that, for Anabaptism to survive, sustainable economic living and choices that align with the gospel call of Jesus are essential.