Updated June 18, 2024 4:45 PM PST: Well, finally the results are out!
The Rev. Robert Morris has formally resigned from his position at the megachurch he founded and preached to tens of thousands of followers, many of them young girls.
The Gateway Church’s elders released a statement on Tuesday following the weekend’s shocking allegations, saying they had accepted the resignation of its founder. We hope that this means he will no longer have any power within the church. That said, he has managed to avoid responsibility for decades and amass a healthy fortune (and a lot of money) despite revelations that he sexually abused a 12-year-old girl.
The committee also claimed it had hired a law firm for an independent investigation to ensure it had a “full understanding of the events” that it claimed to already know in its previous statement. Is there more to be revealed about this spiritual leader?
Read the heartbreaking original story (below)…
[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
Another pastor having an affair with an underage girl? Why does this happen so often?!
Pastor Robert Morris Founder of Gateway Church It’s located in Southlake, Texas. It’s one of several evangelical megachurches that post their sermons on their websites. Youtube He has made millions of dollars by telling people that their faith will make them healthier, richer, and more. Donald TrumpIn 2016, he was appointed to the Evangelical Executive Advisory Council. And now he is being accused of luring and sexually abusing a child.
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weekend, Cindy Cremischer She made the shocking allegation that Morris sexually abused her from the age of 12 to 16.
The abuse began on Christmas Day in 1982, Cindy said. Wartburg Watch onwards WFAAMorris was in his early 20s, already married, and worked as an itinerant preacher. He was a friend of Cindy’s family and stayed at their home in Oklahoma while preaching at the local church. So he was her pastor… Ugh. Honestly, this is going to be tough…
Claims
Cindy says Morris invited her into his room on Christmas night. He told her to lie on her back with her eyes closed and began to fondle her breasts and genitals. Again, she was 12 and he was an adult! She remembers wearing pink pajamas and a skin-tight robe. She says this continued off and on over the next few years. They didn’t have sex, but she says he escalated to the point where he penetrated her with an implement. Cindy says he told her:
“Don’t tell anyone about this, because it will ruin everything.”
She said this happened both when Morris visited her home and when her family stayed over at Morris’s house in Texas, all while her father was donating money to Morris.
Cindy says that when she was 16, Morris took her out in his car and tried to have sex with her. She remembers that Morris was fixing a dresser at home. He held up a screw and asked her, “Do you want to do this?” Later, he Try Even if she wasn’t, he was still going to fuck her.
Advance
In 1987, Cindy finally confided in a friend, who advised her to tell her parents. Her father was furious. Shady Grove Churchwhere Morris was preaching at the time. They threatened to call the sheriff if Morris didn’t quit pastoring, so Morris quit pastoring… for a while.
Cindy also remembers receiving a call from Morris’ wife. DebbieShe told the girl that she had forgiven her. I forgave the 16-year-old boy.Because she was sexually abused. Whatever… Eventually, her family reportedly told Morris they forgave her, though they didn’t want her to preach again. However, after two years of “counseling,” Morris was allowed to pastor again, allegedly with the blessing of a famous ’90s televangelist. James RobisonHer family wasn’t happy about it but felt there was nothing they could do to stop it.
This is not the first time Cindy has told this story outside of her family. After years of counseling, she realized what had been done to her was truly horrible. She came forward in 2005 after hiring an attorney for a civil lawsuit. She said Morris’ attorney argued that it wasn’t his fault because she was “cheating” on him. She was also 12 years old. She was offered $25,000 by the church if she signed a non-disclosure agreement, but she refused. She says she has been open about what happened to her, but no one has listened until someone made her contact. Wartburg WatchShe re-told the story there, at a group that monitors pastors to ensure they exploit young men and women with impunity. She expressed her feelings: WFAA:
“It’s heartbreaking to read this story in print. I’ve been telling this story for years. I just think it was God’s timing for this story to come to light.”
So now it’s out in the open?
His confession
Astonishingly, Morris admitted to it… but the way he described his allegations of soliciting and sexually abusing children does not allow him to take full responsibility. He said in a statement:
“When I was in my early 20s, I engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with a young woman in a house where I was staying.”
Sorry, “young woman”? That makes it sound like you had a fling with a college freshman. This was a 12-year-old girl. And yes, we’re going to keep saying that until we get a clear understanding of what this was all about.
“It was kissing and petting, not intercourse, but it was wrong. This behaviour occurred several times over the next few years.”
Remember what he was like Try Why have sex with her? So, to claim that it is morally right not to have sex with a minor is particularly egregious in this case. He further states that he has served his sentence and is now clean and innocent again.
“In March 1987, the situation was brought to light, confessed, and repented. I submitted to the elders of Shady Grove Church and the young woman’s father. They asked me to resign from my ordination and receive counseling and freedom ordination, which I did. Since that time, I have walked in this area with purity and responsibility. Two years later, in March 1989, I was reinstated to my ordination with the full blessing of the elders and her father. In October 1989, Debbie and I met with her and her family and asked for their forgiveness. They graciously forgave me. This sin was properly dealt with by the confession and repentance I performed in 1987 and 1989.”
Cindy knew her father would never do not have Bless him in his return to the ministry. Sexual abuse being “dealt with appropriately” is not just a matter of repentance (which I’m sorry to say he has not shown any signs of remorse), it requires prison time, rehabilitation through counseling, years of supervision to ensure the safety of young women close to him, and of course, never being allowed back into a position of authority again. That’s terrible.
The Church’s Position
Morris’ Gateway Church (which, incidentally, absorbed the Shady Grove Church where he was preaching at the time of his arrest) also issued a statement in his defense.
“Pastor Robert has been open and forthright about the moral failings he made more than 35 years ago, in his 20s, before he arrived at Gateway Church. He has spoken publicly from the pulpit about the appropriate, biblical steps he has taken during this long process of repair.”
Oh really? Is he still talking about the time he sexually abused a 12-year-old girl? Is it on YouTube somewhere? Is he mentioning how “tempting” he finds her? The statement continues:
“The two-year restoration process was closely supervised by the elders of Shady Grove Church, during which he retired from pastorate and underwent professional and free-service counseling. There have been no moral failures since the 35-year matter was resolved. Pastor Robert has walked with integrity and has had responsible steps and people in his life. The matter has been appropriately disclosed to church leadership.”
“Disclosed to church leadership.” But to the entire congregation? On Gateway’s About Us page? On their YouTube page profile? Take a guess.
Cindy’s response
Cindy says the idea that he’s “open and forthright” is a lie. She said: WFAA:
“He didn’t come forward and confess, he was extradited. What does a person who is extradited regret? Does he regret being caught? Or does he really regret what he did?”
Well, if the outcome doesn’t exist at all, then maybe neither is true.
Did Cindy’s family give his blessing to this man to return to ministry after what he did to her? Cindy, who is still a devout Christian, said she believes church leaders sometimes cover up issues to protect the reputation of their organization in particular, and their faith in general.
“I think sometimes leaders think it’s our responsibility to protect God, but that’s not true. Our responsibility is to protect people. God is bigger than all of that.”
We really admire Cindy for having the courage to come forward now.
Whether Morris faces further consequences remains to be seen, as people band together to defend him, as they often do in these situations. Meanwhile, Cindy has hired a lawyer again. She says: Boz TchividjianTV evangelist’s grandson Billy GrahamTchividjian said. WFAA He believes the statute of limitations for most civil lawsuits has passed, but he’s considering Cindy’s options.
It’s been a long time, but I hope that at least this man faces some kind of justice, and that other victims will find the courage to come forward.
If you have reason to suspect child abuse, call the ChildHelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453 or Child Help.
[Image via MEGA/WENN/Gateway Church/YouTube.]
