It’s not like it’s been perfect, but we’re being honest with each other and they feel like they know me. They all hugged me and loved me-I couldn’t ask for more. I thought, ‘I can either go ahead and keep pretending or I can tell the truth.’ That was the moment I came out to my family. He could see I was going through something. I thought, ‘Here are the people closest to me and they don’t know who I really am.’ In 2004, a short time after Christmas, my family and I were sitting around the table and my son asked what was wrong. At the end of 30 years, I realized I was just pretending. I prayed, I fasted and I went to counseling. What made you finally decide to come out?įor 30 years, I denied the fact that I was gay and did everything the church told me to do. It’s difficult sometimes, but we decided feeling uncomfortable every once in a while is all right because we’re still a family. All my kids accept me and love me.Ĭarol and I are still best friends. I feel like Grandpa Walton a little bit (laughing). I have three girls and a boy, and we’re expecting our ninth grandchild in October. I went on to record my second album Thank You and spent the next 27 years touring. The company went out of business, but about six months later I was able to sell records on my own through an independent distribution company. About six months after the album was released, my distribution company asked if I was ready to do this full-time. It went from station to station and started my career. There was no hook, no bridge and it’s seven minutes long, yet people were incredibly moved and it ended up going to number one. The song was technically not one that should have done well (laughing). You didn’t have to be famous to be asked to perform. The phones started to ring and I was asked to sing in nursing homes, coffee houses, pretty much everywhere within the community. I decided to pick up a guitar and start writing. RAY BOLTZ: When I was 19-in the 1970s when contemporary Christian music was just beginning-I went to a Christian concert and it had a major impact on my life. WATERMARK: How did you become involved with Christian music performance? In an interview with Watermark, Boltz shares his journey of becoming as a musician, coming out as a gay Christian artist and discovering his true self. Boltz came out to his fans and the public in 2008. Today he lives in Fort Lauderdale with his talent agent and partner of eight years, Franco Sperduti. He married his wife Carol in 1975 the two were married for 33 years and had four children together. In 1984, he kicked off his full-time music career with his album Watch the Lamb. 28.īoltz was raised Methodist and always had a love for music. Twenty years later, the congregation will celebrate a milestone with a weekend long celebration that includes a performance by out Christian performer Ray Boltz. Kennedy helped organize the first meeting, at which 78 members were present-a denominational record. Sherry Kennedy founded the church after Venice and Port Charlotte residents faced increased difficulty in traveling to the Manatee County MCC every week. The Venice MCC certainly has a history worth celebrating.