The allegation against the pastor dates back to the 1980s.
SOUTHLAKE, Texas—Megachurch pastor Robert Morris has resigned following allegations that he sexually abused an Oklahoma woman on multiple occasions in the 1980s, beginning when she was 12.
The board of elders at Gateway Church in Southlake on Tuesday said it had accepted the 62-year-old senior pastor’s resignation. Mr. Morris founded the congregation in 2000.
In a statement emailed to The Epoch Times, the elders said they had hired a law firm to “conduct an independent, thorough, and professional review of the report of past abuse to ensure we have a complete understanding of the events from 1982–1987” after details of the alleged abuse became public on June 14 in a report published by a religious watchdog website.
Cindy Clemishire, 54, is the woman who went public with her accusation.
In a
statement released on social media via her attorney, Ms.
Clemishire said Mr. Morris first sexually abused her on Dec. 25, 1982, when she was 12, and that the alleged abuse continued until 1987.The Epoch Times has been unable to reach Mr. Morris for comment.
On Tuesday, the church elders stated that they had previously been unaware of the details of the allegations against Mr. Morris.
“Regretfully, prior to Friday, 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 board said. “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.”
Ms. Clemishire disputes this account.
In her statement, she said she emailed Mr. Morris at his Gateway Church email address in 2005 and that a church elder responded, acknowledging her allegations against the pastor and her age at the time the alleged abuse began.
Then in 2007, her attorney at the time—now Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond—contacted Mr. Morris on her behalf, seeking reimbursement for the thousands of dollars she had paid for counseling as a result of the alleged abuse, she said.
“His attorney acknowledged the dates as well and then attempted to blame me for the abuse,” Ms. Clemishire wrote in her statement. “At the very least, both the Gateway pastor and at least one elder had specific notice that I was sexually abused beginning when I was 12 years old.”
Ms. Clemishire said she has tried for years to expose the alleged sexual abuse she suffered.
“My family and I have gone to leaders of very prominent churches and well-known ministries with this information, hoping that someone would hold him accountable and remove him from ministry,” she said, adding that she was “disappointed that the Board of Elders allowed him to resign. He should have been terminated.”
Gateway Church
According to the church website, the Southlake-based Gateway Church has more than 100,000 active attendees across multiple locations, including nine congregations in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, one in Jackson, Wyoming, and another in Fenton, Missouri.Millions have watched Mr. Morris’ sermons, which air on television in 190 countries. On Tuesday, Christian network Daystar Television announced it would be removing all of Mr. Morris’ programming.
“We are deeply grieved and saddened by the recent and very serious allegations against Robert Morris involving the sexual abuse of a 12-year-old minor,” Daystar wrote in a
statement on social media. “In light of these events and a recently released statement by Gateway’s Elders, Daystar’s leadership has made the decision to remove all of Pastor Robert Morris’ programming from our broadcasting schedule.”
His programs have also been removed from the Trinity Broadcasting Network, known as TBN.
Mr. Morris’ videos aired on YouTube, where they have gained millions of views. He also has a radio program, Worship & Word with Pastor Robert, which airs in 6,800 cities.
Mr. Morris has hundreds of thousands of followers on social media, but he has not posted on his accounts since June 14. He and his wife share two sons, one daughter, and nine grandchildren.
Last year, Mr. Morris announced his plans to retire soon and turn over church leadership duties to his son, James Morris.
Pastor Tony Evans Also Steps Down
Just days before the headlines involving Mr. Morris, another Dallas-area megachurch pastor stepped down “due to sin.”Tony Evans, the senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Church in Dallas,
announced on June 9 his resignation from pastoral duties at the 10,000-member evangelical church he helped launch in 1976.
“The foundation of our ministry has always been our commitment to the word of God as the absolute supreme standard of truth to which we conform our lives,” Mr. Evans said in a statement to his congregation. “When we fall short of that standard due to sin, we are required to repent and restore our relationship with God.
“A number of years ago, I fell short of that standard. I am, therefore, required to apply the same biblical standard of repentance and restoration to myself that I have applied to others,” he continued.
Mr. Evans said he has shared his “sin” with his family and church leadership, and “they have lovingly placed their arms of grace around me.”
“While I have committed no crime, I did not use righteous judgment in my actions,” he said, adding that he would be “stepping away” to submit to the process of healing and restoration established by the elders.
It is not known what Mr. Evans did that led to his decision to leave the ministry.
