Southlake’s Gateway Church held its first weekend of services since Robert Morris, the founder and senior pastor, resigned after confessing to molesting a child in the 1980s, beginning when the girl was 12.
The megachurch’s main campus in Southlake was packed Saturday night and there were protesters outside; Sunday was a different story.
The Star-Telegram attended Sunday’s 11 a.m. service at the church, which featured live worship and a brief opening and closing address from Jelani Lewis, pastor of Gateway’s Plano campus.
“I’m sorry. I know a lot of us are coming today and we’re all in different places,” Lewis said at the beginning of the service. “Some of us come today and we’re heartbroken. Some of us come today and we’re anger. Some of us come in today and we’re not sure what to feel and some of us have never been more hopeful.”
The Sunday sermon and speech about Morris’s resignation by a church elder were recorded at the Saturday service and played to the half-full Sunday auditorium, with many leaving before it ended.
A representative for Gateway Church could not be reached for comment on the decision to repeat portions of Saturday’s service.
Tra Willbanks, one of Gateway’s elders, addressed the congregation about Morris’ revelations and his resignation.
Willbanks, who has six daughters, said “as a father, what happened is extremely upsetting. And I’m experiencing a wide range of emotions just like you. As an elder, I did not know the truth. And frankly, like many of you, my wife and I are shocked, devastated and grieving.”
The sermon was given by Joakim Lundqvist, pastor who leads Life Church in Uppsala, Sweden.
Lundqvist, who has spoken at Gateway, said he had never spoken to the congregation with a heavy heart before — but he also had never wanted to be with them so much.
Lundqvist’s sermon revolved around three main points; “stay close to Jesus, stay close to your family and continue to believe in the power of Jesus’ resurrection.”
Lundqvist also compared Morris’ departure to when Ulf Ekman – who founded and served as senior pastor of Life Church – left and the Swedish megachurch converted to Catholicism describing it as a “dramatic and painful departure of a much-loved and respected founding pastor.”
The worship team returned to the stage before the service concluded and Lewis addressed the congregation telling them to sign up for the opportunity to speak with a pastor about the events taking place at the megachurch.
“We would love to be able to process with you, pray with you, and walk with you,” Lewis said.
Morris resigned from Gateway on June 18 after admitting to sexually abusing a girl for four years in the 1980s in Oklahoma. He was never accused of a crime.
Morris’ accuser, Cindy Clemishire, now 54, said in an interview with the Dallas Morning News that The abuse began when she was 12 – Morris was in her 20s – and it continued until Morris was caught in 1987, when she was 16.
In addition to founding Gateway, one of the largest megachurches in the country – with nine campuses in North Texas and one in Wyoming – Morris also served as spiritual advisor to former President Donald Trump.
