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Layton Howerton |
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When Layton Howerton sold all that he owned in Nashville, bought an old Winnebago, packed up his wife, five kids and a dog, and headed for Wyoming with no certain destination several years ago, it was a pivotal moment in his story. Raised by pioneer missionary parents in Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky, and miraculously healed of leukemia as a child, Layton had struggled since the age of 16 with a call on his life to serve as a pastor. Born with musical gifts though, a fine-grit-sandpapery voice capable of smoothing down the rough edges of any song, Layton had resisted the call to pastor in favor of pursuing his own dreams of musical success.
Critically applauded by publications like Billboard and courted by numerous major labels and publishing companies, Layton seemed always on the verge of his big breakthrough. And yet, one by one, at the "11th hour," every deal seemed to inexplicably fall through. "All through the years I sought after my own selfish things," Layton says. "Until I was 36 I was pursuing personal gain."
Layton's father, a big bear of a man-described in the literate, earthy song "Larger Than Life"-told Layton that God had a plan for him and that he needed to surrender to it totally. When the truth of his father's words finally soaked in, Layton at last gave up his "boxing match" with God, surrendered to whatever God's will might be, anteed up everything he owned in the world, and headed west to be a pastor. "I suddenly had such a powerful assurance that pastoral ministry was His will for my life, that music just didn't even matter anymore," he says.
Others who knew Layton, however, sensed a more embracing call on his life that would one day utilize all of the gifts God had invested in him. "A pastor friend of my dad's spoke to my wife on the phone," he says, "and told her, 'You tell Layton that he may think he's done with that music, but God is going to use it in a way that Layton never dreamed of to reach people.'"
As Layton settled into his calling, he began to wrestle with ways to more powerfully communicate the Gospel. That's when the songs began to come. Layton's songs began to function much like Christ's parables. "What I began to do with songs, I realized I could do with my preaching as well," Layton says. "I began to paint word pictures, setting the scene completely, in great detail, to draw people in."
A couple of years after moving to Wyoming, Layton got a call from a BMG Publishing representative who wanted to know if he was still writing songs. "They listened to my songs, paid for some demo recording and then signed me to a publishing deal."
When the door opened for Layton to partner with Sparrow Records, it marked a full circle journey he never anticipated. "The verse finally came true, that by dying to self I gained the whole world and more," Layton says.
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