Outlaw 4 Christ...Doc Dalton

by

Charles White

Success is a word that means many things to many people. For some, success is their god, while others hear the siren call of success and it drives them to do amoral things. Some people realize that success is simply not enough. Doc Dalton was a successful professional wrestler and yet he struggled with an emptiness that he didn’t know he had. It was an emptiness that led him to be filled with the healing waters of Christ.

Two very loving parents from Northern New Jersey adopted Doc. His adopted father was, and still is, a huge influence in his life. “My father was the greatest man that I know,” Doc proudly declared.  “He would give you the shirt off his back. He had a great sense of humor and he was always lending a hand. He was and still is my role model.”

Dubbed “The American Outlaw” or “America’s Favorite Outlaw”, Dalton entered the world of professional wrestling, where he met with great success. Eventually, he was approached by a local police department to use his wrestling persona to aid at-risk youth. The result was a program called “Body Slam On Drugs,” that reached numerous children in the area and caught the attention of other law enforcement agencies and legislators.

However, despite the success that Doc had achieved, one day he just walked away. He found himself in a very dark place. He was battling clinical depression.

“I spent years being depressed and going to doctors and ending up in the hospital not once, but twice,” Doc explained

One day, one of his doctors suggested that he take up poetry as a means of self-reflection. Despite thinking that the doctor was crazier than he was, Dalton gave it a try. “The moment I started, I couldn’t stop writing,” Doc recounted. “About 90% of what I was writing was spiritual and I had absolutely no clue where it was coming from.” 

That was a very healing experience for Doc. To date, he has written over 150 poems. Writing taught him an important lesson that he shares with others. “For me it really helped,” Doc offered.  “I consider myself to be the average guy and 80% of the people out there are just like me: no better and no worse. I had a feeling that if it works for me, it could work for a lot of people.”

However his experience didn’t just show him that he needed to write, it also showed him there was something missing in his life: God. He quickly realized that he needed to find a church and that he wanted to explore his relationship with God. It took him two years to find a church he was comfortable in and another year before he was baptized.

This journey demonstrated to him that it can be difficult to get involved in the church and begin a  journey with Christ. Sometimes people can get discouraged, but it is a matter of taking the journey one step at a time.  “I say, come to Church and talk to God,” Doc stated. “Sometimes we make it too complicated and we make it scary.”

How does this successful author, speaker and radio host define success. It sure isn’t money. “I don’t think money is everything, although I’d sure like to have a little bit more,” Doc joked. “Sometimes people get too tied up in the world of money and they loose perspective about themselves and the people around them. Money becomes their god.”

Instead, he finds his greatest treasure elsewhere: his daughter. “Being adopted, she is the first thing that is really part of me. She is, without a doubt, the biggest joy in my life and she is a hero of mine.”

What words of wisdom can Doc Dalton impart? It’s pretty simple really: seek truth and have a strong, true relationship with Christ. “Be true to yourself. Listen to your heart. Talk out loud to God…he listens to you. You may not think he is listening, but he is.”   

Drop by Doc's site and learn more about his ministry, his radio show and even catch a few podcasts of his show at 

Outlaws 4 Christ