Pastor Robert Morris of Gateway Church resigns over sexual abuse allegations

“Unfortunately, prior to Friday, June 14, the elders did not have before them all the facts regarding the inappropriate relationship between Morris and the victim, including her age at the time and the duration of the abuse,” the committee said, adding that the elders knew of an extramarital relationship but thought it was with a “young lady.”

“In the interest of the victim, we are grateful that this situation has been uncovered,” it continued.

Morris’ name was removed from the church’s leadership website late Monday; his son James is now listed as the church’s top leader.

In a statement, Clemishire, 54, said she was grateful Morris was no longer pastor at Gateway but disappointed he was not fired. She also disputed the board’s claim that her age was not known at the time of the alleged abuse and said she told a church official and a board member details of the events in 2005 and 2007.

“Gateway had the information but knowingly chose to adopt the false narrative that Robert Morris wanted them to believe,” Clemishire said.

The Council of Elders did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday evening. Neither did the law firm Haynes and Boone, which the Council of Elders hired to investigate the alleged abuses.

Morris did not respond to a request for comment, but told the Christian Post that in his early 20s he was “involved in inappropriate sexual conduct with a young lady in a house where I was staying.” Morris said there was “kissing and petting, but no intercourse, but it was wrong.” Morris said he confessed and repented in 1987, “reported to the elders of Shady Grove Church and the young lady’s father” and was advised to take a break from ministry. He returned in 1989 with her blessing, he said.

Clemishire’s allegations first surfaced on Friday on the religious blog Wartburg Watch. She later also described the alleged abuse to the Dallas Morning News, saying Morris was a close family friend and traveling preacher when he stayed at her home in 1982. On Christmas night of that year, Morris invited her to his room, she told the newspaper. After asking her to lie on her back, he allegedly touched her inappropriately and warned her not to report the incident. She said the abuse continued for 4½ years.

In 2000, Morris founded Gateway Church in the Dallas area, starting with 30 members and growing the ministry into an evangelistic church with about a dozen locations and more than 100,000 attendees each weekend, according to the church’s website.

Morris was part of a group of evangelical pastors and church leaders who served on an unofficial faith-based advisory group for the Trump administration. The group, whose membership has fluctuated, came to the White House for briefings and posed for photos with Trump. Although their actual influence on policy was not clear, the public image was powerful for conservative Christians who had felt overlooked by previous presidents. Trump was part of a roundtable of senior White House officials at Gateway in 2020, where he called Morris and another church leader “great people with a great reputation.”

Michelle Boorstein contributed to this report.