Dan Gilliam: Endorsements

Dan Gilliam served as our Retreat Master for our sixth Matt Talbot M-140 retreat, and without question we had more positive comments about him than any previous RM (and they were all good!) Dan brought a real world quality to the weekend with which all of us could identify. His voice was that of the real-world man in recovery who is making a spiritual journey in a physical world. His focus was on the Twelve Steps, and we were all right there with him. I highly recommend him for leading a retreat, and we hope to have him back with us "down the road."

Robin B.
robin@spectra-ip.com

Dear Danny,

Just a quick note to tell you how much our group enjoyed your presentations at our retreat last weekend.

Your in-depth knowledge of the 11th Step was augmented by your honesty, openness and personal warmth.

Last night I was approached by a couple of our members who qualified last weekend as “The best retreat ever!”

Thank you ever so much; your leadership helped make our weekend experience a joy!

With a Grateful Heart,

Buck

Dan,

Thanks for a great retreat. I was pretty sure through the process of booking you that we would have no problems. The ease of connection with you on the ride from the airport assured me God had made the correct choice and that I had listened. Throughout the weekend the men were engaged and stayed for all the large group as well as the small group sessions. Many commented about how they enjoyed the 11th step meditations, and that was obvious by the large numbers who attended. Also the Sunday morning meeting which is normally small was surprisingly well attended. Again thanks. I hope to see you on the road to happy destiny.

Yours in service
Tom Orr
Chairman Matt Talbot Group #97

Hi Dan,

I wanted to take the time to write you a personal heartfelt thank you for leading our Matt Talbot Retreat from November 14 - 16, 2008. I knew from the great conversation we had on the car ride from Boston to the retreat center in Wareham, MA that our group was in for a special weekend.

Your spirituality was impressive and sincere. You were able to keep approximately 60 retreatants engaged for an entire weekend, not a small task. You did this with a sense of humor, an engaging storytelling ability and a perspective gained from many years of traveling the road of recovery. You also added to the weekend by giving of yourself for the one-on-one's that many members need and enjoy, morning prayers and of course the spiritual time walking the Labyrinth.

A testament to your ability is the fact that our group is already talking about having you back.

I hope our paths cross again soon on this amazing journey we are on!

Continue to Pass in On!

Peace, Joel.

"Hi Dan, Finally got a minute to say thanks for the awesome retreat and fellowship. Bill is still telling everyone he sees about the great time he had. He finished his fourth and fifth step there, then came home and picked up a six month chip on Tuesday. When I got home I immediately went to your website and was not surprised that the artwork matches the message. AWESOME!"

Kevin O'Hare
Executive Director
GATEWAY TO RECOVERY
kevin@gatewaytorecovery.org
(734) 309-3091

“Dan is a kindred spirit and is easy to reach. We shared a weekend of recovery, faith and connection to God. He was well received by our group. Many complimented his abilities to connect with us all, while delivering a thought provoking and honest message of spirituality. After the retreat a few suggested that he is the type of person we need regularly and alluded to having him come back again for our retreat. We appreciate your service Dan and you are always welcome with our group.”
Gregg H. – Matt Talbot Retreats – Group #116 (September 19th, 2008).

"Dan is a natural-born retreat leader. He knows how to connect through honesty, humor, story of personal recovery, and on developing a real relationship with God. Feedback received from retreat participants was overwhelmingly positive, and contained many questions about the date of our next retreat with Dan Gilliam! I look forward to the next retreat and the continuing inspiration Dan brings." - Dan F.

"'God Touches' offers the blandly, stuffily or wearily religious a taste of Christian spirituality that is spicy, natural, honest, and downright vivacious. And it offers the irreligious a window into the soul of a man whose faith never makes him less human, less thoughtful, or less interesting. Beautifully written and inspiring too."- Brian McLaren, author/speaker/activist

"I feel like I can breathe again after reading God Touches. Just when you thought religion would choke every last breath of freedom out of you, Dan Gilliam awakens you to realities you never dreamed possible with God. Too often Christendom dumbs down the Christian life to something shallow and narrow. God Touches unveils a Christian spirituality, which is deep and wide. Perhaps the most hopeful aspect of the book lies in the fact that what it offers can be experienced along the everyday paths of real life by nobodies like me."

Jim Palmer, author of Divine Nobodies: Shedding Religion to Find God (and the unlikely people who help you)

Hey friend:

Meet a life long friend of mine, Dan Gilliam. There were a dozen or so of you in my contact list that I thought should get to know him. He has ministered to me personally over the years in a multitude of ways…through his art, music and writings, but primarily in conversation over long distance phone calls. He definitely is in the top three people who've had the most significant influence over me (so blame him).

I've also had him in at two different churches where I've served and the response was tremendous both times. He's a great guitarist/singer, painter, speaker and now has a collection of his writings, "God Touches," recently published and doing well.

I knew Dan before he was "somebody" running in the circles of published authors writing about contemplative spirituality…he hasn't changed a bit. He's still Dan, bringing a cup of cold water to the spiritually hungry, but religiously tired.

I'd highly recommend him for a weekend at your church or school…coffee house, spiritual retreat, Sunday morning music/message slot…whatever. (We gave him the Sunday, set his paintings around the stage, let him sing, tell stories, talk and we were richer because of it.)

"When Dan Gilliam plays his guitar, sings his songs and tells his story, music, meaning and even some magic find a home right there. I've watched Dan in a variety of settings simply presence the spirit of Christ. Felt it myself."
CarltonBakkum@cox.net

"I have known Dan and had the privilege of seeing him minister to people. There is no pretense about him. Dan Gilliam ministers in a way Jesus did -- he speaks right to the hearts of people. The Lord uses Dan in a powerful manner. I am grateful to have him as both a friend and a brother."
BigLou747@earthlink.net

"Dan is the best thing that happened to our retreats. He speaks from experience, he sings from this heart, and he interacts with a passion for people. His words, in story, song, and even art, have left lasting positive impressions on our college age people."
Rusty@RealLifeChurch.org

"With a poet's heart and the gift of art, Dan put a wonderfully fresh and intimate spin on our retreat. Our teens stopped looking for the next game and started looking inside their own hearts to find their place in God's."
KeithBud@comcast.net