Sacrifice Brings Fulfillment

Dr. Dick Burt Understands these are tough economic times but, like many of his and previous generations, has witnessed worse and in those tough times, his view of stewardship was formed. Burt's father, Clyde Burt of Bastrop, LA., was the 59th of 150 people who made up the first group of supporters pledging gifts to Harding's endowment in 1945. He and his wife, Peggy, agreed to contribute $100 per year for three years. "It doesn't sound like much now, but that was when a lot of people were only making 25 cents an hour," Burt says. "You think about how much time was involved in earning $100, much less saving."

But save they did. Throughout the year, when she got a few dollars ahead, Peggy tucked away money in a little box in the corner of the family cedar chest - where such treasures as old wedding pictures and her wedding dress were stored. The money was due in November, and, at least once, the family borrowed money from the bank to fulfill its pledge.

"We had to have $100 in November for Dr. Benson," explains Burt.

Although the loan was probably not more than $25, Burt says borrowing money from banks was not something of which his family made a habit. "But that was one thing you did get a loan for if you needed it. You had to get that $100 together."

While that money was being set aside for Harding, Burt says there were things he forfeited. "But you did without things all the time," he adds. "It was just different then. That was just in the budget. The light bills due next month; Dr. Benson's coming in November."

Burt believes the idea of "sacrifice" needs to be re-examined. "It's used in a negative connotation: 'I did without' or 'gave up,' when sacrifice is really a fulfillment," he says.

The family's association with Harding began before Benson's presidency. Burt's mother's grandfather, W.B. Breedlove, was a pioneer preacher in southeastern Arkansas and ran a school near Monticello.

"He was a man of great character," says Burt of his great-grandfather, a man who turned down opportunities to advance as measured by the world's standards.

"As a little boy, not knowing I was impressed with those values, I was."

Family gatherings at Thanksgiving Lectureship solidified the commitment to the University. "It was a glorious thing to come to Harding during Thanksgiving lectureship," he recalls. "To drive through the arch? People came together to sing and have great worship experiences."

Burt says the endowment opportunity was likely mentioned at Lectureship.

"My mother had these ties with Harding from the early days on because of her grandfather," he says. "The admiration they had for J.N. Armstrong was easily transferred to Dr. Benson. [He had the] ability to attract a more prolific and more diverse audience."

Twenty-five years later, Burt was in a position to help do the same. By the time he was a dentist practicing in Richardson, Texas, Christian education had moved beyond its origin as preaching schools. Burt had previously served with a group at Abilene Christian University to promote math and sciences when President Cliff Ganus asked him to help build a development council at Harding.

"I like the idea of a finer academic background in Christian education," Burt says. "I was so pleased to do that. This was really the opportunity I wanted to make Harding a better place."

Because of such leaders as Ganus and Billy Ray Cox, Burt decided to make a stronger financial commitment. "They had vision," he says. "They had strength, they had purpose, and they had faith. It was just a wonderful chance to add to the purposes that my mother and daddy had shown me."

Burt also served on the University's board of trustees, including a four-year term as chairman.

"Harding has been faithful to its fundamental commitment," he says. "You won't talk five minutes to anybody that knows anything at all about Harding without agreeing that those values that we all espouse are here. There are some ways we could do better, but that golden thread - it's not been broken."

Ultimately, Burt remains optimistic. Despite economic indicators that might suggest otherwise, he says, "I think these are good times. These are good times for us to reassess our values and principles. Let me tell you, when the money was being collected in the corner of the cedar chest, those were a lot worse than these times."