Pastor Robert Morris recently confessed to a “moral failure” that took place over 35 years ago. The pastor founded Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, which draws an estimated 100,000 worshippers weekly. However, Morris admitted he was engaged in “inappropriate sexual behavior” with a “young lady” that began when she was 12.
“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. It was kissing and petting and not intercourse, but it was wrong. This behavior happened on several occasions over the next few years,” Morris said
He continued, “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,” Morris added.The Texas pastor said that he sought forgiveness for his actions. “I asked their forgiveness, and they graciously forgave me,” he said.
According to the victim of the sexual abuse, Cindy Clemishire, Morris began sexually abusing her in 1982. “I was 12 years old. I was a little girl. A very innocent little girl. And he was brought into our home. He and his wife, Debbie, and their little boy, Josh, and trusted and preached at the church that my dad helped start and then began grooming all of us to do this, which took me decades to wrap my brain around as an adult,” she said.
She adde that the activity continued for yeas, starting when she was an innocent girl who knew nothing about sex. “It went on for many years. He says there was no sexual intercourse, but he did touch every part of my body and inserted his fingers into me, which I understand now is considered a form of rape by instrumentation. I was an innocent 12-year-old little girl who knew nothing about sexual behavior,” she said.
According to Elders at Gateway Church, Morris has been honest in his confession and repentance in the sinful behavior which occurred decades ago. “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 Gateway Church. He has shared publicly from the pulpit the proper biblical steps he took in his lengthy restoration process,” they told the Christian Post.
They further detailed the “restoration process” that Morris underwent at Shady Grove and noted that he has since walked in purity with no other “moral failures. The elders continued, “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 this 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.”
Morris’ confession follows the controversial news that Pastor Tony Evans would be stepping down from his leadership at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas. These current events serve as a reminder that our Christian leaders must be held to a high standard in their moral duties.
Featured image credit: Jared Stump, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gateway_Church_NRH.jpg