Robert Morris Resigns: Unveil the truth with Knowledge Eagle
Robert Morris Resigns
James Morris, son of former Gateway Church Pastor Robert Morris, who resigned last month over allegations of child sexual abuse, has also stepped aside from his role as pastor at the church.
Gateway Church officials announced the resignation late on Thursday.
This marked a major change in the future of the church, since Robert Morris planned to hand over the leadership of Gateway in 2025 to James Morris. The statement stated that Gateway elders had met with James Morris, associate pastor of the church and his wife Bridgette who is also a church pastor, and they “collectively made the decision” to have the couple step down.
Bridgette Morris was the executive pastor for ministry experience and communications at the church. The elders stated that they “affirm and believe” that God had placed in James and Bridgette a desire to become senior pastors at a church in the future. “We deeply love and care for Pastors James, Bridgette, and their children. We sincerely thank them that they have invested their lives at Gateway Church. They have served faithfully and honourably our congregation and the community for all of the years they have been a part of Gateway Church.
Gateway leaders announced that Pastor Max Lucado had taken on an interim teaching position at the church. Robert Morris, the father of James Morris, founded Gateway Church in 1962 and led its massive congregation for many decades, before resigning in June, following allegations of sexual abuse. Cindy Clemishire’s story, in which she claimed that Robert Morris had sexually abused her beginning in the early 1980s, was what started all of this. Morris was 20 years old at the time, and Clemishire was 12.
Morris, after the allegations became public, admitted to his congregation he had “engaged in inappropriate sexual behaviour with a young woman,” but he didn’t mention the girl’s age.
Morris decided to quit the church after a public outcry. Haynes and Boone, a law firm hired by the leaders of Gateway Church to investigate the allegations against Morris, has conducted an internal investigation. Three Gateway elders, including Robert Morris’s son James Morris, took temporary leave of absence as the investigation began.
In a statement released Thursday, the Gateway leaders said that they had been “diligent” in their prayers over the past few weeks. They also sought “the wisdom and advice of many respected pastors and ministry leader in order to obtain godly counsel.”
Church leaders decided to meet James Morris and Bridgette Morris about their resignation. James Morris had been working at the church since 2012.
Robert Morris Resignation Letter
Robert Morris Resigns and this was written in the letter of resignation and posted on Facebook handle
“Update to the Gateway Congregation from the Board of Elders
Thank you for your grace, prayers, and support for all members of our Gateway Church family in recent days. The Gateway Board of Elders is committed to leading with integrity and humility as we navigate this difficult season together.
As we previously informed you, Gateway Church has appointed the outside law firm Haynes and Boone to conduct an independent and comprehensive inquiry related to the recent events. As Haynes and Boone begins their work, they have recommended that any Gateway Church Elder with a potential conflict of interest take a temporary leave of absence from the Board of Elders. This includes any Elder with a relational conflict and those Elders who were on the Board from 2005–2007. Haynes and Boone made this recommendation consistent with best practices for inquiries of this nature. A leave of absence in no way whatsoever assumes or implies that any Elder had any knowledge of the true facts related to this situation.
Three of our current Elders are impacted by the law firm’s recommendation. These three Elders did not serve on the Gateway Church staff in 2005, only on the Board of Elders during the time period of 2005–2007, but they are wholly committed to doing what is best for Gateway Church. These Elders desire to go above and beyond to help ensure that everything possible is done to conduct the inquiry impartially and consistent with best practices. For this reason, these Elders have volunteered to take temporary leaves of absence from the Board.
These three Elders—Kevin Grove, Steve Dulin, and Gayland Lawshe—are men of integrity who have served Gateway Church with distinction, and each of these three Elders has clearly stated that they had no knowledge of the true facts of this situation.
In addition, Haynes and Boone has recommended that Pastor James Morris also take a temporary leave of absence from the Gateway Board of Elders. Pastor James Morris is Gateway’s newest Elder and was not an Elder between 2005–2007.
Pastor James Morris is a man of integrity, and he has clearly stated that he had no knowledge of the true facts of this situation. However, because Pastor James Morris is related to Robert Morris, Haynes and Boone has recommended that
Pastor James also take a temporary leave of absence from the Board of Elders and Pastor James has volunteered to do so to demonstrate his commitment to a truly independent and unbiased inquiry.
We are grateful to these four Elders for their leadership, their service on the Board, and for their commitment to honoring God and doing what is best for Gateway Church. During this temporary leave of absence, these four Elders will continue their important work as valued staff members at Gateway Church.
The Elders are praying for you and asking God to be with each of you in this season. We know that God is still on His throne. He continues to be our firm foundation, and we are standing firmly on that foundation now and in the days and weeks to come. We know that He loves and cares for every one of you. We are praying for you as you continue looking to God as your Source of hope and strength.”
Reason Behind the Robert Morris Resigns Gateway Church
Gateway Church posted on Facebook that James Morris, Robert Morris’s son, took a leave of absence for a short time from the Board of Elders, based on the recommendation of Haynes and Boone, the church’s lawyers.
The post stated, “Pastor James Morris has integrity and he clearly stated that he did not know the truth of this situation.” Haynes and Boone recommended that Pastor James Morris also take a leave of absence from his Board of Elders. Pastor James has agreed to do this to show his commitment to an independent and unbiased investigation.
In a post on Facebook shared Thursday, the Church wrote: “The Independent Investigation is still underway, but the Elder Board has a few updates that they will share during services this weekend.”
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