The church announced on social media on Friday that it had hired a law firm, Haynes and Boone, to “conduct an independent and comprehensive inquiry related to the recent events.” At the firm’s recommendation, Gateway’s new pastor, Robert Morris’ son James, has temporarily stepped aside to avoid conflicts of interest. It was also recommended that Kevin Grove, Steve Dulin and Gayland Lawshe, who served as elders from 2005 to 2007, take temporary leaves of absence.
The church said the temporary leaves do not mean they knew of the allegations, and Grove and Lawshe remain employees of Gateway, Grove as the executive global pastor and Lawshe as the network pastor.
Gateway remains one of two powerful nondenominational churches in the Dallas-Fort Worth area; the other is Gateway’s church plant, Mercy Culture, where Schatzline was once a pastor. Both churches have drawn attention for their outspoken support of local political candidates and opposition to restrictions on politicking by tax-exempt organizations under the federal measure known as the Johnson Amendment.
“Both have toyed with Johnson Amendment restrictions by listing the names of church members running for political office during church services,” said David Brockman, a nonresident scholar at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. “Morris did so in 2023 when he displayed a list of local school board candidates who are members of Gateway-affiliated churches.
“Morris also voices two complaints commonly voiced by Christian nationalists — the prohibition on official school prayer and the legalization of abortion — as signs of America’s departure from the intent of the Founders and descent into sin,” Brockman added, citing a 2023 sermon in which Morris claimed that “America was founded — and you can look it up — William Bradford stood on Plymouth Rock and said we found this nation for the propagation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
With the allegations, Morris’ impact on politics had shifted, as Leach told a local NBC news affiliate he would focus on extending the civil statute of limitations, limiting nondisclosure agreements and adding penalties for mandatory reporters who don’t report suspected abuse.
RELATED: Robert Morris Resigns as Gateway Church’s Senior Pastor Following Sexual Abuse Allegations
“As a born-again believer, I love the bride of Christ,” he said. “I want to protect the church. But the church in many cases like in the case of the pulpit at Gateway has been defiled. We ought to be stepping up and turning over tables and protecting victims.”
