A Dream That Came to Life

"I’m just a layperson.”

This sentence is usually spoken in the same self-deprecating inflection as “I’m just a homemaker” or “I’ve never been to seminary” or “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh . . .” (Moses in Exod 3:11). It is an age-old habit, endemic to the human condition— if we don’t have a socially sanctioned role, or a professionally certified position, or a recognized position in a family or community hierarchy, we feel inadequate and apologetic.

At a retreat center in the Texas Hill Country, that “laity myth” is, week after week and year after year, exposed as the lie that it is. It only takes a few hours at Laity Lodge for the term to get scrubbed of every and any hint of condescension. “Laity” is restored to its gospel vigor. “Laity” is a term of dignity that Christian men and women are bold to carry with them into workplace and marketplace, home, and church without deference, without apology.

Howard Hovde, Executive Director Emeritus of the Laity Lodge Retreat Center, gives us a detailed account of the history of Laity Lodge and how its ministry continues to transform the lives of its visitors today. Born in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, Hovde served in the United States Navy. He attended Baylor University, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Columbia University, and the Shamlem Institute for Spiritual Formation. He served as the Director of the Laity Lodge Retreat Center for 18 years and has pastored churches throughout the country. He is the author of two books, The Neo-Married and Into a Larger World. He is married to Carole and they have two children and three grandchildren. He enjoys golfing, mentoring, and facilitating retreats at the Laity Lodge.