Texas dishonest pastor Robert Morris first appeared in court from a turbulent exit almost a year ago from Gateway Church, a church he founded in 2000.
“It’s really sad and tragic when those things happen,” Texalcana-based author and pastor Jeff Schrev said in a recent episode of “Faith vs. Culture,” referring to cases like the Morris scandal.
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Morris’ dramatic collapse from Grace was written much by Christian culture, not just in the large congregations of the church, but also because the 63-year-old former pastor was accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting her in the 1980s when she was only 12 years old.
After Clemicher levelled the charges against Morris, he resigned from his post as the lead pastor at the South Lake, Texas-based Multisite Gateway Church. He was subsequently charged in mid-March by the Oklahoma Multicounty Ju Court on the number of five felony charges, including child lewd and indecent behavior.
On May 9th, he made his first public appearance since his expulsion. The former minister grinned for the Oklahoma hearing. There, Osage County Judge Cindy Piqueril began a preliminary hearing on September 4th.
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“The man surpasses me in the way he thought he would not be disqualified from public pastoral ministry,” Shreve said. “(i) It looks like he might go to prison. He should be for what he did.”
At the Southlake campus alone, the contributions of attendees and ti have been significantly reduced in response to revelations about Morris. In an internal video leaked on Facebook last November, Kenneth Fambro, one of Gateway’s remaining three elders, said that since Clemicher first revealed her allegations against Morris, where she first appeared, the church’s tithe has fallen by 35% to 40%.
Processing these kinds of stories is overwhelming, raising theological and spiritual questions, and even casting clouds of doubt on the faithful of God’s beliefs. A scandal of this magnitude is not something that most followers face directly. Nevertheless, everyone will encounter at some point in their lives by disappointment and disappointment.
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The Bible reveals that people in spiritual leadership must be “more judged” and be properly accountable for their actions (James 3:1), and Shreve encouraged Christians to remember that “we all have clay feet,” which prompted references to Daniel’s Old Testament book, and caution and identification when it comes to spiritual authority.
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Reprinted with permission from Faithwire.com. Copyright©2025 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All Rights Reserved.
