page_33 < previous page page_33 next page > Page 33 One explanation for the predominance of Mennonite "change agents" offered was that "the basic personal characteristics of a culture that make one a good farmer also make one a very good businessman. Hard work, frugality, discipline, aggressiveness are formed on farms. What happened is a lot of Mennonites just moved over to the professions and business world and brought that culture along." 2 Some Mennonite "change agents" like John Thomas, developer of three hundred acres of farmland into Willow Valley Resort, see themselves and their work in development as singled out by God in order to carry out "God's master plan." But not all Mennonites view development as divination. One who objects to this view is a forty-five-year-old Mennonite investment banker I will call Daryl Sensenig. Speaking about events in Mill Creek Valley, Sensenig says he is "troubled" that "so many of my people participate in the misuse of the earth," and he is "saddened," realizing that he too is "not guiltless" by virtue of his "membership in American consumerist society.'' "Victor Weaver is remembered for the business he established in the community. It provided jobs to many people, and it provided a market for area farmers, including Mennonites. He also created the wealth that is the foundation for his children's development activities. You may be glorifying Victor Weaver too much." After a pause Sensenig quickly interjects, "But Lancaster County's development problem is not a Mennonite problem; it's a larger, societal problem. It may be ironic and difficult to comprehend that Mennonites would participate in wrongful development. The Mennonite subculture is in the throes of accelerated social change: for the first time it's dealing with excess wealth, vocational shifts away from agriculture, pursuit of higher educationall deeply influenced by conservative American fundamentalism (God, country, and wealth). We imbibe American materialistic culture and fear the threat of loss of newly acquired wealth. This rapid move from an agrarian subculture to the mainstream is unique and makes upwardly mobile Mennonites vulnerable to pragmatism. It's placed moral blinders on lots of us. "But could you accept, though, that Mennonites participating in wrongful development are like anyone else doing it? The issue is a very controversial one. I find myself in opposition sometimes to the actions of some of my fellow believers. "But how can I confront in love the way Jesus would?" One answer to Daryl Sensenig's question is found in the writings of Milo Kauffman, a leading Mennonite scholar on stewardship. In Stewards of God, Kauffman lays out the Biblical description of a steward: Â < previous page page_33 next page >