UPDATE 6/18/24 4:45 P.M. PST: Well, finally some consequences!
Pastor Robert Morris has officially resigned from his position at the megachurch he created — his position preaching to tens of thousands, many of whom were young girls.
Gateway Church’s board of elders released a statement on Tuesday following the weekend’s shocking accusations, revealing they’d accepted their founder’s resignation. We hope that means he’ll lose any power there — though he’s accrued plenty (and made a LOT of money) in the decades he evaded consequences despite being outed for molesting a 12-year-old girl.
The board also claimed they’d hired a law firm for an independent investigation — to make sure they “have a complete understanding of the events” they claimed in their previous statement to have already known about. Will more come out about the spiritual leader??
Read the heartbreaking original story (below)…
[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
Another pastor with an underage girl?? Why is this such a common thing?!
Pastor Robert Morris is the founder of the Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas. It’s one of those evangelical megachurches that posts their sermons on YouTube and makes millions of dollars telling people if their faith is strong enough they’ll be healthy and make money, etc. He also notably served on Donald Trump‘s Evangelical Executive Advisory Board in 2016. And now he’s being accused of grooming and sexually abusing a child.
Related: Congressman Whose Son Made Funny Faces Started Dating His Wife WHEN?!
Over the weekend a woman named Cindy Clemishire came forward with a shocking allegation — from the ages of 12 to 16, she says, she was molested by Morris.
The alleged abuse began on Christmas 1982, Cindy told The Wartburg Watch and later WFAA. Morris was in his early twenties, already married and working as a traveling evangelist. He was a friend of Cindy’s family and was staying at their home in Oklahoma while preaching at their local congregation. Meaning he was her pastor… Oof. Fair warning, this gets rough…
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The Allegations
Cindy says that night, on Christmas, Morris invited her into his room. He told her to close her eyes and lie on her back — then began fondling her breasts and genitals. Again, she was 12 YEARS OLD, and he was a grown man! She remembers she was wearing her pink pajamas and snap-up robe. This continued repeatedly over the next few years, she says. While they never had sex, she says he did escalate to penetrating her with instruments. Cindy says he told her:
“Never tell anyone about this because it will ruin everything.”
She says this happened both when Morris would visit her home and when her family would stay at his in Texas. The entire time, her father was donating money to Morris.
When she was 16, Cindy says, Morris would take her out in his car and try to have sex with her. She remembers one incident when he was fixing a vanity in his house. He held up a screw and asked her if she wanted to “do this.” Remember that later — that he was trying to have intercourse with her, even if they didn’t.
Coming Forward
In 1987, Cindy finally did tell someone, a friend — who advised her to tell her parents. Her father was furious. He called Shady Grove Church, where Morris was preaching at the time. He threatened to call the sheriff if Morris didn’t give up being a pastor, so he did… for a bit.
Cindy also recalls getting a phone call from Morris’ wife Debbie, who told the young girl she “forgave her.” She forgave the 16-year-old. For being molested. WTF… Eventually, she says, her family did tell Morris they forgave him, though they never wanted him to preach again. But after two years of “counseling,” Morris was allowed to become a pastor once again, allegedly with the blessing of famous ’90s televangelist James Robison. Her family was not happy about it, but there was nothing they felt they could do to stop it.
This isn’t even the first time Cindy has told this story beyond family. After years of counseling, she understood how bad what had been done to her truly was. She came forward in 2005 after hiring an attorney for a civil lawsuit. She says Morris’ attorney argued it wasn’t his fault because she had been “flirtatious” with him. Again, she was 12 years old. She was offered $25,000 from the church if she agreed to sign an NDA. She refused. She says she has been open about what happened to her, but no one wanted to listen until someone put her in touch with The Wartburg Watch, a watchdog group for pastors who take advantage of young men and women and get away with it. So she told the story again. She described the feeling to WFAA:
“The story is gut-wrenching when I read it on paper and I’ve been sharing it for years. It just happens to be God’s time, I think, for it to come to light.”
So now that it’s out in the open?
His Confession
Well, surprisingly Morris has admitted to it… Though the way he describes grooming and molesting a child isn’t exactly taking full accountability. He said in a statement:
“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.”
Sorry, but “a young lady”? That makes it sound like he got fresh with a college freshman. This was a 12-year-old girl. And yes, we will say that again and again until it gets hammered home exactly what this was. He continued:
“It was kissing and petting and not intercourse, but it was wrong. This behavior happened on several occasions over the next few years.”
Remember when we pointed out how he was trying to have intercourse with her? So claiming the moral high ground for not having penetrative sex with an underage girl is especially egregious in this case. He goes on to say he did his time — and he’s all pure and righteous again now:
“In March of 1987, this situation was brought to light, and it was confessed and repented of. I submitted myself to the Elders of Shady Grove Church and the young lady’s father. They asked me to step out of ministry and receive counseling and freedom ministry, which I did. Since that time, I have walked in purity and accountability in this area. Two years later, in March of 1989, I stepped back into ministry with the full blessing of the elders and her father. In October of 1989, Debbie and I met with her and her family, and I asked their forgiveness, and they graciously forgave me. This sin was dealt with correctly by confession and repentance, which I did in 1987 and 1989.”
Again, Cindy says her father absolutely did not give him his blessing to get back into the ministry. And molestation being “dealt with correctly” isn’t just about repentance (which, sorry, he isn’t even showing). It’s about prison time, rehabilitation through counseling, years of being under a watchful eye to make sure any young girl in his vicinity is safe, and of course never being put back into a position of authority like the one he’s in now. Gross.
The Church’s Position
Morris’ Gateway Church — which btw absorbed the Shady Grove Church where he was preaching when he was busted — released a statement defending him as well:
“Pastor Robert has been open and forthright about a moral failure he had over 35 years ago when he was in his twenties and prior to him starting at Gateway Church. He has shared publicly from the pulpit the proper Biblical steps he took in this lengthy restoration process.”
Oh really? He still tells the story about the time he molested a 12-year-old girl? Is that on YouTube somewhere? Does he note how “flirtatious” he finds her?? The statement continues:
“The two-year restoration process was closely administered by the Elders at Shady Grove Church and included him stepping out of the ministry during that period while receiving professional counseling and freedom ministry counseling. Since the resolution of the 35-year-old matter, there have been no other moral failures. Pastor Robert has walked in purity, and he has placed accountability measures and people in his life. The matter has been properly disclosed to church leadership.”
“Disclosed to church leadership.” But to the entire congregation? Is it on Gateway’s about us page? On the YouTube page’s bio? Take a guess.
Cindy’s Response
Cindy calls B.S. on the idea he’s “been open and forthright.” She told WFAA:
“He didn’t come forward and confess. He was turned in. When someone is turned in, what are they sorry for? Are they sorry they got caught? Or are they truly repentant of what they did?”
Well, when the consequences are so nonexistent, maybe neither is true.
As far as the idea her family gave their blessing for this man to return to being a pastor after what he did to her? Cindy, still very much a Christian, says she thinks church leaders sometimes sweep things under the rug to protect the reputation of their organization in particular and faith in general:
“I think leaders can get caught up and think it’s our responsibility to protect God and it’s not. Our responsibility is to protect the people. God is bigger than all of that.”
We respect so much how brave Cindy is for coming forward now.
As for whether Morris will face any further consequences? We’ll have to see how far and wide this story spreads, if everyone closes ranks to defend him as they often do in these situations. Aside from that, Cindy has retained a lawyer once again. Innerestingly she chose Boz Tchividjian, grandson of televangelist Billy Graham. Tchividjian told WFAA he believes the statute of limitations for most civil action has expired, but he’s looking into Cindy’s options.
It’s been so long, but we hope at the very least, this man faces some kind of justice — enough so that other victims have the strength to step forward.
If you have sincere cause to suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org.
[Image via MEGA/WENN/Gateway Church/YouTube.]
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