"Regretfully, prior to June 14, the elders did not have all the facts of the inappropriate relationship between Morris and the victim, including her age at the time and the length of the abuse," the release states. "The elders' prior understanding was the Morris's extramarital relationship, which he had discussed many times throughout his ministry, was with 'a young lady' and not abuse of a 12-year-old child. Even thought it occurred many years before Gateway was established, as leaders of the church, we regret that we did not have the information that we now have."
Original story below.
Less than a week after one prominent Dallas megachurch pastor stepped down following decades in the pulpit because of “old sin,” another, arguably more powerful pastor from North Texas is under fire for sin from his past.
Robert Morris, pastor of Gateway Church, a Southlake church with a number of locations throughout North Texas, has admitted to sexual impropriety. The admission came after a woman detailed a series of alleged abuses at the hands of Morris in the early ‘80s, when Morris was a young, newly married pastor.
“When I was in my early twenties, I was involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady in a home where I was staying,’ Morris said in a statement to The Christian Post over the weekend. “It was kissing and petting and not intercourse, but it was wrong. This behavior happened on several occasions over the next few years.”
Morris’ use of the term “young lady” has drawn widespread criticism, as Cindy Clemishire, the woman who has publicly come forward with her allegations, has said she was 12 when the alleged abuse began in 1982.
Both the pastor’s and accuser’s accounts align in that some form of inappropriate sexual activity occurred over the course of years. Clemishire says in an interview with the Wartburg Watch, a blog site that covers the “abuse, theological fads, controlling pastors and leadership, and other topics of interest to evangelicals,” that Morris exploited his position as a pastor and family friend staying at her house to get her alone for the first alleged instance of abuse on Christmas Day 1982.
She thought nothing of visiting a family friend in their bedroom. He told her to lie down on her back and touched her stomach. He told her to close her eyes. Then he touched her breasts and felt under her panties. He warned her:
Never tell anyone about this because it will ruin everything.
She returned to her bedroom and didn’t tell her sister what happened.
As of Monday morning, it appeared as though Gateway leadership has not sent any official communication to church members regarding the allegations nor Morris’ admission of impropriety. But on Friday, June 14, Thomas Miller, an executive team lead pastor at Gateway, issued an internal memo to church staff explaining that leadership was aware of his “moral failure.”
Morris has been on hiatus and was not scheduled to preach on Sunday.
According to The Christian Post report, this isn't the first time Clemishire has attempted to speak out about her accusations against Morris.
“Clemishire explained that she retained an attorney in 2005 to file a civil lawsuit but Morris’ attorney suggested she caused the abuse on herself because she was 'flirtatious.' She said she asked for $50,000 to cover the cost of her counseling stemming from the abuse,” the report read. “She said they offered her $25,000 if she signed a non-disclosure agreement, but she refused.”
Similar to Tony Evans at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, Morris has become far more than a local pastor with a sizable church. Since beginning as a small group inside his home nearly 25 years ago, Gateway has grown to now claim 100,000 weekly attendees across its campuses, and Morris has become a religious and politically conservative media star. According to church information, Morris’ radio show is broadcast on thousands of stations around the world, and his television show Pastor Robert Morris Ministries also airs to a global audience.
Morris’ profile has also risen in more recent years because of his affiliation with and support of former President Donald Trump, someone who has made fundraising visits to the church. Morris, along with other North Texas pastor heavyweights including James Dobson, Jack Graham and Robert Jeffress, served on Trump’s so-called “evangelical advisory board” shortly after the 2016 election.
Clemishire also spoke to WFAA over the weekend and explained why she’s again coming forward.
"The story is gut-wrenching when I read it on paper, and I've been sharing it for years," she told WFAA on Sunday. "It just happens to be God's time, I think, for it to come to light."
