Congregants at Gateway Church accept Morris’s offer of “money back” on the tithes

FORT WORTH, Texas (RNS) – Katherine Leach’s stomach turned as she drove to Saturday service at Gateway Church early this summer.

Leach, who has attended the non-denominational congregation in North Texas for the past three years, has also started tithing — a practice in which one-tenth of a person’s income is given to a church or religious organization. She also considered joining Gateway’s prayer team.

Then, on June 18, Gateway’s founder and senior pastor, Robert Morris, resigned following allegations made by an Oklahoma woman named Cindy Clemishire, who told the Wartburg watch that Morris had sexually assaulted her several times in the 1980s, beginning when Clemishire was 12 years old.

Since Morris founded Gateway Church in 2000, it has grown into one of the nation’s largest megachurches, with approximately 100,000 active participants at the main campus in Southlake, a suburb of Tarrant County, and nine campuses in Texas and two others in Missouri and Wyoming.

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“This is an unthinkable and painful time in our church. Our congregation is hurt and shocked, and we know you have many important questions,” Gateway Church elders said in a June 21 statement, saying the church had hired law firm Haynes and Boone LLP to conduct an independent to conduct investigations into the matter.

At the next service, on June 22, as Leach drove to church, a group of protesters carried signs that read “She was only twelve” and, citing the Gospel reading forbidding the corruption of children: “Matthew 18:16 Millstones don’t cover up. !”

Leach also made a gesture, but she wanted to hear what the leadership at the service would say. After handing water bottles to the protesters, she went inside and watched from the balcony. “I went with the expectation that there would be a sense of sadness as a church body,” Leach said. “It was heartbreaking and it honestly made me sick because it was just business as usual.”

That was the last time, Leach said, she attended a worship service at Gateway, but she did not add her name to the 25% of congregants who have officially left the church since June. Instead, Leach has asked questions, asking for a copy of the church’s bylaws, financial statements and how its tithes have been used.

In 2022, while visiting Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago, Morris spoke about a deal he made with members of Gateway Church. “I’ve told our church several times, I’ve told them… ‘If you try for a year – if you’re not completely satisfied – at the end of that year, I’ll give you your money. back,” Morris said. “With 22 years of church service, no one has ever asked for their money back.”

Leach is now one of many congregants trying to take Morris up on that offer. On September 9, she submitted a letter to Gateway Church requesting her tithes back. Nearly a month later, she and other congregants submitted an application court case alleging that Gateway Church committed financial fraud with congregants’ tithes.

The lawsuit alleges that Morris and other Gateway leaders told their congregation that 15% of all tithes would go to overseas missionary work. Leach and the suing congregants claim the promise was not kept and that they do not know where the tithes – which can amount to more than $15 million annually – went.

Lawrence Swicegood, spokesman for Gateway Church, said the church “does not comment on pending litigation,” but he added: “These are serious allegations. Some of these concerns have been reported to us recently and we are actively investigating them. Funds donated to our church are sacred, and it is important that we adhere to the highest biblical standards of ethics and integrity.”

Said Leach: “The more the onion is peeled, the more things are discovered, the more concerns arise – and transparency is huge. Members have the right to know where their tithes are going.”

Morris isn’t the only pastor who has offered congregants “money back” on tithes. Life.Church, one of the largest churches in the US, has established its church 90 Day Tenth Challenge in 2007. If a giver does not “see God’s blessings” after three months of tithing, the church claims to refund the tithe in full.

NewSpring Church in South Carolina also offered a 90-day tithing challenge in 2016. If “God does not remain faithful to His promises of blessingsWorshipers who give 10% of their income or more can ask for the money back.

Money-back offers, said Russ McCullough, an economist at Ottawa University in Kansas and co-host of the “Faith and economicspodcast, indicate that you fully believe in what you’re doing, so much so that you know you have to offer this money-back guarantee,” McCullough said. “It is used to lie, or if used truthfully, it is used to indicate quality.”

Ben Witherington III, professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary, said Morris’ restitution promise could indicate he realized he had a credibility problem. “One of the possible reasons why Morris would say that in the first place is that he wanted to make it clear that he could be trusted, but that already suggests that there is a suspicion that he is not trustworthy,” Witherington said.

But Witherington said there are deeper concerns about cash back offers because of the way funds are viewed in the Bible. “They were not given to the church. They are given to God,” Witherington said. “They should know better than to make such an offer because once you give it you can’t take it back. It is supposed to be a gift to God, not a gift to the church.”

Tithingor the concept of giving a tithe of what one had, such as money, crops or livestock, for religious purposes dates back to the Hebrew Bible. The money or resources would be used to support clergy, maintain churches, or help the poor.

Emily Nelms Chastain, professor of the history of Christianity at Southern Methodist University, said that before the 20th century, churches in many denominations raised money by rent sofas. Families who sat in pews closer to the altar were considered higher up socially and economically.

“There were questions about where the money went and how people paid their way into heaven or paid their way into some kind of benefit in the church,” Nelms Chastain said. “When these kinds of ethical conflicts come up in the church, it really shakes people’s spiritual foundations in terms of their faith.”

The way tithing is used can impact a congregation’s confidence in its leadership, says Elisabeth Rain Kincaid, director of the Institute for Faith and Learning at Baylor University, and can in turn be used to hold leaders accountable to shout. “They are expected to be true to their faith and responsible in the use of the money.”

On October 5, Gateway Church elder Tra Willbanks stood in the pulpit and told Attendees said the church’s finances have been “independently audited since 2005” and assured them: “At this time we are not aware of any financial misconduct. We, your elders and church staff, understand and embrace the sacred and biblical obligation we have to steward the dollars given to Gateway.”

The church is also in the process of joining the Evangelical Financial Accountability Council and publishing the bylaws after they are updated, he said.

The ECFA requires churches to have an independent governing body that reviews annual accounts. A copy of the statements is available upon written request.

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Leach said her concerns about Gateway Church’s financial condition “go so much deeper” than getting her money back. If that does happen, she says, she plans to reallocate the resources to other ministries.

“This is not about money in our pockets. This is about Biblical stewardship. This is about transparency and the concerns we have about the lack of transparency and what happens behind closed doors,” Leach said. “Ultimately, I want to make sure that I handle God’s money in an excellent way.”