Former GMA Dove Award Winner Holds Beachside “Wedding” with Homosexual Partner

Back in the 90s, few voices rang louder in evangelical youth groups than Ray Boltz. Choirs sang his ballads, even parents wept at his lyrics, and GMA Dove Awards were stacked on his shelf.

His song, Thank You, captured the imagination of a generation. The Anchor Holds gave solace to broken men. And in 1994, he took home Inspirational Song of the Year for I Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb—a declaration of costly discipleship that echoed through sanctuaries like a modern creed.

“I pledge allegiance to the Lamb
With all my strength, with all I am
I will seek to honor His commands
I pledge allegiance to the Lamb.”

To youth groups who were serious about their faith, those didn’t seem like empty lines in their day. They were sung with tears streaming down the faces of kids who believed Boltz meant every word. They believed him when he told the story of Christians brought before tyrants’ thrones, choosing death over denial of Christ.

“But one by one, they chose to die
The Son of God, they would not deny.”

His music called us to commitment and his lyrics demanded loyalty to Christ above comfort, above approval, above life itself.

But the same man who once swore allegiance to the Lamb has now pledged allegiance to his flesh. After divorcing his wife of 33 years and announcing in 2008 that he was a homosexual, Boltz retreated into silence for a long time. But now, somewhere on a beach, maybe in Florida, we don’t know, that silence was broken—not with repentance, but with vows.