Gateway announces temporary resignations of four alumni at the suggestion of a law firm

Gateway Church announced Friday that four elders will take a temporary leave of absence pending the outcome of an outside law firm’s investigation into child sexual abuse allegations against founder Robert Morris.

The temporary leaves were recommended by Haynes and Boone, the law firm hired by Gateway. The four elders include Morris’ son, James Morris, who was previously selected to succeed his father as Gateway’s senior pastor in 2025. The other three — Kevin Grove, Steve Dulin and Gayland Lawshe — were elders between 2005 and 2007, when Morris’ accuser, Cindy Clemishire, said she contacted Morris to confront him about the alleged abuse and possibly sue him.

“As Haynes and Boone begin 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,” said a statement on the Gateway website. “This includes any alumni with relationship conflict and alumni who served on the Council from 2005 to 2007.”

Clemishire said that in 2005, she contacted Morris by email to confront him about the abuse she suffered as a child. She said she believed the elders were aware of her accusation when Tom Lane, a former Gateway alumnus, responded to her email and tried to call her.

Clemishire also said that in 2007, she hired a lawyer and asked Morris for $50,000 to cover the costs of his counsel over the years. She said Morris’ lawyer countered by offering her $25,000 if she signed a nondisclosure agreement. She said she declined.

According to archived versions of Gateway’s website, Grove and Dulin were alumni in 2005, while Lawshe was an alumnus in 2007. Tom Lane, who left Gateway in 2023, said last week that he did not know Clemishire’s age at the time of the abuse.

“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,” the statement said.

James Morris, the youngest son of Robert Morris, is Gateway’s newest elder and is expected to become the next senior pastor in 2025. The statement said Morris did not know the full picture of the allegations against his father, but was taking temporary leave. due to the possible conflict of interest of being the son of Robert Morris.

“We are grateful to these four elders for their leadership, their service on the board, and their commitment to honoring God and doing what is best for Gateway Church,” the statement said. “During this temporary leave, these four elders will continue their important work as valued members of the Gateway Church staff.”

Clemishire first made her allegations against Morris public two weeks ago on the religious watchdog blog The Wartburg Watch. Clemishire said in a phone call with THE Dallas Morning News that Morris, a family friend, began sexually abusing her in 1982 when she was 12 and he was 21.

Clemishire said the abuse continued until she was 16. She eventually told her parents, who went to the elders of Shady Grove Church, where Morris was preaching at the time, and demanded that he be removed from his position, she said .

Morris said in a statement sent to Gateway staff shortly after the Wartburg Watch story that he engaged in “kissing and fondling” with a “young woman” early in his marriage and ministry. Morris called the incident a “moral failure” and said he left the ministry for two years and underwent a “restoration process” overseen by Shady Grove elders.

Morris later said he returned to ministry with the blessing of Clemishire’s parents, which Clemishire denied.

Morris resigned as Gateway’s senior pastor on June 18, four days after the allegations were made public. Morris has not been criminally charged, and it is likely that the statute of limitations for both criminal and civil charges has expired.

Clemishire’s attorney, Boz Tchividjian, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.