Robert Morris, the founder and senior pastor at Gateway Church in North Texas, has resigned from his position on Tuesday. This comes after allegations of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl in the 1980s surfaced recently. The incident has prompted Morris to step down from his role in the church.
The Board of Elders at Gateway Church, a large multi-site megachurch located in Southlake, officially announced on Tuesday that they have accepted Morris’ resignation. They also stated that they will conduct a comprehensive review of the report regarding the past abuse to gain a complete understanding of the events.
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The elders have stated that they were not aware of all the facts regarding the reported sexual assault, including Clemishire’s age during the time of the abuse and the duration of the incidents.
In the released statement, it was mentioned that the elders were under the impression that Morris’s extramarital affair, which he had shared multiple times during his ministry, was with a young lady and not an act of abusing a 12-year-old child. The statement goes on to express the elders’ heartbreak and disgust at the recent revelations, extending their deepest sympathies to the victim and her family. The elders are grateful that the situation has come to light for the sake of the victim and state that they understand the pain of those affected by this situation. The statement concludes with a prayer for the healing of all those who have been affected.
Clemishire expressed her mixed emotions about Morris’ resignation, revealing that she believes there are other victims who have suffered as well.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Clemishire expressed her gratitude for the resignation of the former pastor at Gateway. However, she also expressed her disappointment over the decision of the Board of Elders to allow him to resign instead of terminating him. “He should have been terminated,” she stated firmly.
Clemishire called out the church elders for being aware of her allegations of sexual abuse, yet deliberately choosing to accept “the untrue version Robert Morris wanted them to believe.”
In 2000, Morris established the inaugural location of the church in Southlake. Since then, the evangelical church, which is among the largest in the United States, has expanded to include nine campuses throughout North Texas.
On Friday, The Wartburg Watch, a church watchdog blog based in North Carolina, was the first to report the allegations against Morris. The story was then picked up by The Christian Post on Saturday.
Morris has acknowledged engaging in “inappropriate sexual behavior” in a statement provided to The Christian Post.
He confessed to engaging in inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady while staying at a home in his early twenties. The behavior, which involved kissing and petting but not intercourse, occurred on multiple occasions over the next few years and he acknowledged that it was wrong.
During one of his sermons a decade ago, Morris openly spoke about his past experiences with sexual immorality during his teenage years.
In 2014, Morris openly admitted that he had developed the skills to deceive and manipulate people due to past experiences of rejection. He acknowledged that he didn’t want to experience rejection again, so he targeted vulnerable girls who were more likely to fall for his tactics. Morris also mentioned that he had become adept at identifying potential targets.
According to the church elders, they have hired a law firm to carry out the review.
