Robert Morris’ Son, 3 Others Taking Temporary Leave From Gateway Church’s Elder Board

Jame Morris Robert Morris
Screengrab via YouTube / @Gateway Church

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Gateway Church’s board of elders released a statement on Friday (June 28), informing the congregation that Robert Morris‘ son, James, along with elders Kevin Grove, Steve Dulin, and Gayland Lawshe, have “volunteered to take temporary leaves of absence from the Board.”

The news comes a little over a week after the board accepted the resignation of Robert Morris, the church’s founder and senior pastor, after it became known he allegedly sexually abused 12-year-old Cindy Clemishire for multiple years in the 1980s.

Morris’ son is associate senior pastor, an elder, and the only one currently listed as senior leadership staff at Gateway Church.

RELATED: Robert Morris Resigns as Gateway Church’s Senior Pastor Following Sexual Abuse Allegations

In a previous statement, the elders informed the church that the law firm Haynes and Boone, LLP would conduct an independent inquiry related to Morris’ past.

After the elders thanked the congregation for its “grace, prayers, and support” and reiterated their commitment to lead Gateway Church with “integrity and humility,” they said that Haynes and Boone, LLP “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,” the elders added. “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.”

RELATED: Gateway Church Elder Expresses ‘Personal Compassion’ to Cindy Clemishire Following Robert Morris’ Resignation

The law firm’s recommendation directly impacts three of Gateway Church’s current elders, but the elders made it clear that none of them served “on the Gateway Church staff in 2005, only on the Board of Elders during the time period of 2005–2007.”

However, these elders are “wholly committed to doing what is best for Gateway Church,” the statement said.

The elders named Executive Global Pastor Kevin Gove, Executive Pastor of Kingdom Business Leaders Steve Dulin, and Church Network Pastor Gayland Lawshe as the three who have “volunteered to take temporary leaves of absence from the Board.” The elders described the three as “men of integrity who have served Gateway Church with distinction” and stated that all of them claimed that they had “no knowledge of the true facts” of Robert Morris’ sexual abuse.

James, one of the church’s newest elders, was recommended to “also take a temporary leave of absence from the Gateway Board of Elders” by Haynes and Boone, LLP because he is Morris’ son.

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Jesse T. Jackson
Jesse is the Senior Content Editor for ChurchLeaders and Site Manager for ChristianNewsNow. An undeserving husband to a beautiful wife, and a father to 4 beautiful children. He serves as the chairman of the deacons, a growth group leader, and is a member of University Baptist Church in Beavercreek, Ohio. Follow him on twitter here (https://twitter.com/jessetjackson). Accredited member of the Evangelical Press Association.

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