Another DFW mega church pastor in a scandal. I knew it was a big church, but 100,000 every weekend? Sounds like the church has known for some time about the incidents, but didn't know the age? Was married nad had a kid when he started with the 12 year old.
Robert Morris, a founding pastor of Gateway Church accused of sexually abusing a girl when she was between the ages of 12 to 16, has resigned, the Southlake church announced in a news release Tuesday.
The Oklahoma woman, now in her 50s, told The Dallas Morning News that Morris abused her on multiple occasions in the 1980s. In the one-page release, Lawrence Swicegood, a church spokesperson, said the church 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 elders’ prior understanding was that 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,” Swicegood said in the release.
Morris has not responded to repeated messages from The News seeking comment since Saturday.
The alleged abuse was first reported Friday on the religious watchdog blog Wartburg Watch. In a statement to The Christian Post, which published a story detailing the allegations Saturday, Morris said he was “involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady.”
The church’s board retained the law firm of Haynes & Boone to conduct an “independent, thorough and professional review” of the allegations to “ensure we have a complete understanding of the events” from 1982 and 1987, according to the statement.
The statement does not say whether the investigation’s results will be made public. Swicegood and a Haynes & Boone spokesperson did not immediately return a phone call seeking more information.
Morris, 62, has not been criminally charged. The woman, Cindy Clemishire, said Morris was already married with a child when their families met in 1981. The News does not typically name victims of sexual abuse, but Clemishire has allowed her name to be published.
The church elders, Swicegood said in the release, are “heartbroken and appalled” by the allegations, saying, “we express our deep sympathy to the victim and her family.”
“For the sake of the victim, we are thankful this situation has been exposed. We know many have been affected by this, we understand that you are hurting, and we are very sorry,” the statement reads. “It is our prayer that, in time, healing for all those affected can occur.”
Gateway was founded by Morris in 2000 in Southlake and has expanded to nine campuses across the Dallas-Fort Worth area and offers services online. The church has about 100,000 attendees each weekend, according to its website.
Robert Morris, a founding pastor of Gateway Church accused of sexually abusing a girl when she was between the ages of 12 to 16, has resigned, the Southlake church announced in a news release Tuesday.
The Oklahoma woman, now in her 50s, told The Dallas Morning News that Morris abused her on multiple occasions in the 1980s. In the one-page release, Lawrence Swicegood, a church spokesperson, said the church 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 elders’ prior understanding was that 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,” Swicegood said in the release.
Morris has not responded to repeated messages from The News seeking comment since Saturday.
The alleged abuse was first reported Friday on the religious watchdog blog Wartburg Watch. In a statement to The Christian Post, which published a story detailing the allegations Saturday, Morris said he was “involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady.”
The church’s board retained the law firm of Haynes & Boone to conduct an “independent, thorough and professional review” of the allegations to “ensure we have a complete understanding of the events” from 1982 and 1987, according to the statement.
The statement does not say whether the investigation’s results will be made public. Swicegood and a Haynes & Boone spokesperson did not immediately return a phone call seeking more information.
Morris, 62, has not been criminally charged. The woman, Cindy Clemishire, said Morris was already married with a child when their families met in 1981. The News does not typically name victims of sexual abuse, but Clemishire has allowed her name to be published.
The church elders, Swicegood said in the release, are “heartbroken and appalled” by the allegations, saying, “we express our deep sympathy to the victim and her family.”
“For the sake of the victim, we are thankful this situation has been exposed. We know many have been affected by this, we understand that you are hurting, and we are very sorry,” the statement reads. “It is our prayer that, in time, healing for all those affected can occur.”
Gateway was founded by Morris in 2000 in Southlake and has expanded to nine campuses across the Dallas-Fort Worth area and offers services online. The church has about 100,000 attendees each weekend, according to its website.
Gateway Church pastor Robert Morris resigns after sex abuse allegations surface
Robert Morris, a founding pastor of Gateway Church who was accused of sexually abusing a girl when she was between the ages of 12 to 16, has resigned.
www.dallasnews.com
