Elders at Gateway Church in the Dallas area claim that until recently, they didn’t know the woman with whom Robert Morris had a “moral failing” in the 1980s was only 12 years old. However, emails released today by the attorney for the alleged victim, Cindy Clemishire, call that claim into question.
Clemishire claims Morris molested her over a four-year period in the 1980s, beginning when she was 12 years old. On Tuesday, four days after Clemishire’s claims became public, Morris resigned from Gateway Church, a multi-site megachurch in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
“Men that have over 100 counts of child molestation go to prison,” wrote Clemishire in a September 20, 2005, email to Robert Morris. “Men who pastor churches that have over 100 counts of child molestation go to prison and pay punitive damages. You have not had to do either. I do not believe that is fair or right.”
Though the 2005 email accusing Morris of child molestation was sent only to Morris, an earlier email from Clemishire to Morris’ same email account was answered by Tom Lane, former Gateway executive senior pastor and elder.
In an April 13, 2005, email, Lane explains to Clemishire: “Your email came to me because it was sent to the general email address for Robert and not his personal email.”
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The Roys Report (TRR) reached out to Lane’s lawyer, David Joe, for comment, and Richard Harmer, who said he’s a representative of Tom Lane, responded.
Harmer initially said in 2005, Lane had access to Morris’ email account but did not see the email from Clemishire accusing Morris of child molestation.
TRR later spoke directly with Lane, who said all the emails sent to Morris’ general email went to Morris’ assistant, Judy Woodliff, who is no longer alive. Lane said Woodliff would sometimes forward emails to him to answer. Lane said he did not receive the 2005 email from Clemishire, claiming Morris had molested her as a child.
In a statement posted on Instagram today, Lane further said that in 2005, he believed “Pastor Robert had a consensual extramarital affair, not the sexual abuse of a 12-year-old child.”
Lane told TRR he thought Clemishire was 16 to 18 years old when she was sexually involved with Morris. Morris was married and between 21 and 25 years old when the alleged abuse occurred, though Lane said he had thought Morris was only 19 when the misconduct occurred.
When we asked whether Lane knew what the age of consent was at the time in Oklahoma and Texas, where the alleged abuse occurred, Lane replied, “I had no idea.”
The age of consent in Texas 1982, when the alleged abuse began, was 17. The age of consent in Oklahoma was 16.
The 2005 emails between Clemishire, Morris, and Lane were sent to TRR this afternoon by Attorney Basyle Tchividjian, who represents Clemishire.
They show that Clemishire reached out to Morris sometime before April 11, 2005, and Lane responded.
“First, I wanted to let you know that Robert has been completely open with the Elders of Gateway Church about his past and specifically about his indiscretion with you,” Lane wrote.
“. . . At the time of the indiscretion, Robert submitted to a two year process that included stepping out of vocational ministry. This healing process included meeting with you and your parents to ask forgiveness. He undertook other steps as he was directed by the Elders of Shady Grove Church (now Gateway Church—Grand Prairie Campus).”
Lane concludes his email by stating that “Robert and (his wife) Debbie have done what they can to help you heal. Our church believes in healing, forgiveness, and restoration of all individuals. . . . Please let me know if Gateway Church and its Elders can help you find healing in any way.”
On September 9, 2005, Clemishire wrote to Morris’ same general email address: “I am giving you one last chance to call me. You really have no idea how devastating it will be if you don’t. I don’t want Tom or anyone els (sic) to contact me. This is your issue not his.”
On September 20, 2005, Morris asks what Clemishire wants and adds: “(Y)ou said that I have no idea how devastating it will be if I don’t contact you. What does that mean?”
Clemishire responds the same day:
Men that have over 100 counts of child molestation go to prison. Men who pastor churches that have over 100 counts of child molestation go to prison and pay punitive damages. You have not had to do either. I do not believe that is fair or right. You have had almost no consequences for your actions. I have suffered almost my entire life from the emotional damage you inflicted on me. If you want to know what I want, call me. Otherwise, I will proceed with what has been advised.
Twenty-three years after you began destroying my life, I am still dealing with the pain and damage you caused. I want some type of restitution. Pray about it and call me.
The final email released to TRR is from Morris to Clemishire on October 3, 2005, and contains a threat.
“My attorney advises that if I pay you any money under a threat of exposure, you could be criminally prosecuted and Debbie and I do not want that.”
Morris also writes, “If you desire to make this public, I am also willing to do so . . . You should talk to your father also about disclosing the matter beyond those who already know since he has your best interest at heart and his counsel should, at the least, be considered, if not honored.”
Email Thread Between Cindy Clemishire, Tom Lane & Robert Morris:
Selected emails
Julie Roys is a veteran investigative reporter and founder of The Roys Report. She also previously hosted a national talk show on the Moody Radio Network, called Up for Debate, and has worked as a TV reporter for a CBS affiliate. Her articles have appeared in numerous periodicals.
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I need time to process this article, but what first struck me … 100 counts? Does that mean she’s saying this happened 100 times?Heart-wrenching.
His molestation went on for 4 years. I am sure she is very aware of each and every time it happened.
It was only when he stayed at their home. Respectfully get the facts right.
Melody: why would you be rebuking anyone? There is a narrative out there that abuse accrued both in Oklahoma and in Texas. But since you mentioned it, Robert lived in Texas when the abuse occurred in Oklahoma and a case could be made that he violated Title 18-2251 of the US code – sexual exploitation of a minor and traveling across Interstate Lines to do it. I don’t know the TOL on that one but something tells me his desire to come to Tulsa to hold revival dramatically increased in January of 1983. NO?
Melody, that doesn’t contradict my point in any way?
Ok, I guess then he was at their home 100 times in 4 and 1/2 years?
The reporting says it was at her home and also at his families in Texas, and that the families did things together. He was a traveling preacher. 100 times in 4 1/2 years is totally possible, and I’m sure she is aware of every single time. Nothing she has said has been disproven to this point, and she’s got receipts for all of it- why would this be the thing she lied about, in a private email no less?
Well, Robert Confirmed one thing – Debbie knew. I And yes, believe that is what she is saying. If it happened over a 4 1/2 or 5 year period, starting Xmas day in 82, that would be all of 83,84,85,86 and part of 87 – 20 times a year – easy. How i read her email, she was simply saying what she believes that other pedophile pastors have had to endure. Anthony or Joe or Middlebrook (past/current Gateway lawyers) or whoever dealt with her sure didn’t see a problem with offering her 25k in exchange for her silence. I feel they could of made it 50k….or 2 million. She should have called Lonnie Ford. He could have taught her how to not commit extortion. I don’t think he demanded money. He just wrote a book and threw it in Paul Crouch’s lap and threatened to publish it, and then we came to him with 495k. :)
You don’t have a problem with a child molester paying someone 25K to stay silent about a crime? Really? You have no morals then. I guess you think pastors like Robert Morris should just be able to hand someone a paper bag filled with money in a dark alley and walk away scott free after they’ve abused someone for years, ruined their life, and broken ever pastoral vow they took when they became a pastor. People with your kind of attitude about this problem are the reason why people like Morris don’t go to jail and pay for their crimes like a person on the street would.
@Eddie Cremer – Tues 6/25 ~ 12:50 PM
Dear Eddie, Typically I read thoroughly through each chain but today I’m more limited on time,
The 25k was never intended to be a payoff. In 2005 the victim-survivor Cindy asked for 50k to help reimburse her counseling costs … the wealthy church offered 25k provided she signed an NDA which she did not agree to. Thank God that she preserved her right to speak so this is now more fully being bright to the light.
4 1/2 years that started on Xmas day 82 – all of 83,84,85,&86& part of 87 maybe. 20 times a year makes sense. This article proved one thing – Debbie knew. Sadly, if she reached out by herself, she probably did violate Title 18/blackmail or extortion. If she had gone to him and said “i’m just going to expose you all for nothing” i have a feeling that Middlebrook or whoever, would have come back to her. Its what Lonnie Ford did to Paul Crouch. What i have a hard time with is that Judy Woodlif intercepted her email suggesting that Robert molested her, i have a hard time believing that she would of forwarded a subsequent email to Tom Lane to deal with. If Robert knew her emails were coming to a general box that could be sent to someone that didn’t know the details of his past, i have a hard time believing Robert or his assistant would of allowed anything to go to anyone but Robert? That make any sense to you? I’m definitely not calling anyone a liar as i respect Tom Lane and really respect Richard Hammer. But it doesn’t make any sense to me.
The leadership of this cult are a brood of vipers. And you attack the victim? Shame on you!
I’m not sure it proves that Debbie or any of the other elders, etc. knew. He may have been using their names just to make Cindy think everyone else was on his side.
Also, why the father thought it was a good idea to protect the pastor and not his daughter?
@Elizabeth Blalack – the reason we know that Debbie was aware of Cindy’s abuse is because Cindy reported that Debbie called Cindy and “forgave her.” This exact detail continues to get mentioned over & over again … because of the remarkable nature of the comment.
that’s what I thought as well. Yikes
The fact is, only two people truly know what happened or how often. That would be Robert and Cindy. Which leads to another universal fact. There are three sides to every story. 1. His side 2. Her side. 3. The truth which is usually somewhere in the middle of his side and her side.
Instead of all the arguing back and forth. We should all use the time and energy to pray for Cindy, Robert, their families, Gateway Church, and THE Church at large which now has one more black eye to discourage non believers from even wanting to consider Christianity. Can’t we all remember that we are all sinners in need of grace? Let use all remember that we should forgive and we wish to be forgiven regardless of whose side may seem most valid.
Julie Roys, you should not have revealed Cindy’s email address in the above article, you should have blacked that out, please black it out, even if Cindy no longer uses it
.
I asked Cindy and she said it’s fine to include. It is an old email address.
The story just keeps getting worse. The new headline could be:
Pastor Molested Minor About Every Two Weeks for Four Years
(100 counts over 4 years)
“The final email released to TRR is from Morris to Clemishire on October 3, 2005, and contains a threat. ‘My attorney advises that if I pay you any money under a threat of exposure, you could be criminally prosecuted and Debbie and I do not want that.’”
Can we have a story on whether Morris can be criminally prosecuted? Some are saying there is no statute of limitations for the relevant felonies against minors.
The arrogance on the part Morris in his response to his victim is sickening. I hope he is never allowed near a pulpit again.
Unfortunately Morris will be preaching again, on his “Restoration Tour” within 2 years. He may even start a new church, as every other scandal-plagued minister has done.
And yet another example of men covering up felonies for each other. Another example of men living in medieval times, trying to gaslight a woman into believing she isn’t capable of making her own decisions and needs to consult her father on what he thinks about what she should do about a grown man molesting her when she was 12. Another example of men trying to downplay their manipulation and abuse. Another example of an institution that should be combatting evil caving in to the words of men because they are “the authority.” Everything about the institution of “church” is corrupt and leading countless people into pain and trauma for their entire lives. Yeshua never built a church, nor a religion. A “former” Pharisee did though, just like Morris and every other child predator in this institution were “reformed” and went on to spread their venom for decades. I’ve never set foot in a church where they cared about the words of Yeshua and His teachings over their image, power, or control over the congregation. Not one.
Agreed. The American system of institutional denominations is a cesspool. This is proved not be calling Jesus, “Lord, Lord,” but by what it does. The church I grew up in has my brother, who molested in ’93, as its head deacon in charge of visitation. It is an independent church which changes nothing. The corruption is absolutely disgusting.
I’m so sorry to hear this Ralph. I was a preacher’s kid until was 13 and my preacher father abandoned us for another family. I was (along with everyone else in the congregation) demonized by the ideals and doctrine of the church and terrified, every day, for my eternal soul as a child and young adult. It has taken me decades to process the brainwashing and indoctrination I received. Thank God I was never SA’d (in the church, anyway) but I have family members who were. The church takes EVERYTHING, even our own discernment and thoughts, from individuals in order to keep them under control. Nothing has changed within the SBC since medieval times when the church had more power than the crown, itself. The church STILL holds all the power, they’re just better at hiding it with their thousands of fractured denominations. It took decades of the Holy Spirit working on me alone to even allow myself to believe in God again after everything I’ve been through. I have an individual relationship with Yeshua that no one can take from me, no matter how hard they try to shame and villainize me because I learned to discern the Pharisees.
“Yeshua never built a church, nor a religion.” The Apostle Matthew begs to differ. 16:18 and 18:17.
“A ‘former’ Pharisee did though, just like Morris and every other child predator in this institution were “reformed” and went on to spread their venom for decades.”
I’m genuinely sorry that your experiences have caused you to have such a jaundiced and inaccurate perception of the Apostle Paul.
I’m sorry that you’ve been spoon fed and forced to swallow a narrative from a corrupt organization that has been authoritarian since it’s inception and often contradicts the Words of the Messiah. I’m also sorry you felt the need to admonish someone who has been spiritually abused by the institution you cling to; it shows how hardened your heart has really become. I’m also sorry that your interpretation of these verses in Matthew lead you to believe that the church that exists today, with its corruption, vipers, wolves and molesters, are what Yeshua had in mind. The second verse you reference, He is speaking about the temple, and English translators changed the word to “church.” What was done in the temple is nowhere near what is done in church today, and is of an entirely different religion. Yeshua did not start a religion around himself, Paul created a religion from his misguided past that laid groundwork for what the church claims is to be their blue print, which is a ton of control and not much Love in Christ. So, you follow the direction of a man, not of the Messiah. “The church will be judged,” what’s to judge if the church is Holy?
YOU are seriously messed up…you claim a “relationship with Yahua”, but you certainly DO NOT know Jesus….
YOU don’t know me. And you can thank your churches for abusing and casting out Christ’s people. Do you yell at these men who have committed heinous crimes that they don’t know God, or do you just reserve your vitriol for the people calling out the Pharisees? Does it make you feel better to claim you know my relationship with God? Make you feel better to condemn me? I bet your judgmental self is in a pew every Sunday and Wednesday. They’ve taught you the Pharisee doctrine well.
I’d like to have 100% transparency as a requirement for ministers. No private time with women under 80. All web searches open for review. All passwords for email etc. shared with their wives. Certainly not ANY private counseling time with teenagers and preteens. If this is too much to ask, then I ask how we’ll prevent these horror stories from recurring? Men in authority are gonna stop succumbing to temptation? Don’t we all wish! Billy Graham NEVER had to answer even the accusation of immorality. Let’s seek the same for ALL leaders.
Women over 80 are still assaulted and abused.
Having an open door policy does not stop a man from being alone with a woman/child
The only thing that is going to impact the horrific numbers of abusers is for leadership and congregation to have zero tolerance for any kind of abuse, and immediately report to authorities when it happens.
Sin is always going to be found within the church. It’s the lack of response and cover-ups to it that allow it to fester and spread.
You can sanction your pastors any way you like with the Billy Graham rule, but it is massively insulting to any woman in a church environment.
But since men make the rules in church, women don’t get a say in this.
Larry- agreed. The Billy Graham Rule focuses all of the power and decision making with men, since they’re they only ones they can meet with- and we see how that has worked out. It also reduces all women to only being a sexual threat- that is the only quality about them men who follow the BGR are willing to interact with, and it implicitly blames them for any “failure” a man might have.
I prefer pastors who are able to have appropriate relationships with everyone, leading the WHOLE body of Christ, instead of cutting off more than half of it.
Say what you will, but I as a woman have no problem with the “Billy Graham” rule. He was wise and I for one would never be massively insulted by any intent of protection to me in any church. If you can’t feel safe at church, just where can you feel safe? I say bring on the protection as it appears there are too many men who don’t know how to behave respectfully.
Sally, this is a confusing response to me. there are too many men who don’t know how to behave respectfully…. so lets put them in power with a “rule”? Why don’t we just only hire men who can behave respectfully not just to men, but to everyone? Who are able to have appropriate relationships with men AND women AND children, and lead them all?
Billy Graham didn’t have that rule to protect women- he had it to protect himself and his ministry- his power. He was avoiding being “falsely accused”. I don’t want a pastor who will see every woman as a potential threat to ministry, a potential false accusation. I want a pastor who will live in a way that any false accusations will fall flat.
We need to start hiring for long proven character, not charisma in the pulpit. “good on stage” is not a fruit of the spirit.
That’s an excellent point and excellent answer. God bless you!!!
The Billy Graham rule only serves to protect the man against false accusations. It does nothing to protect a woman or to reduce/eliminate abuse.
Having a rule like this also assumes that women are either the seductresses or are running around making false accusations.
If also communicates the idea that men can’t control their urges and need to be under watchful eyes at all times.
Amen to that! We wouldn’t have many doctors, lawyers etc…if back in the days women couldn’t be mentored and trained by men with the the Billy Graham’s type of rule
I think you are underestimating the severity, and the scope of the problem. We now live in an ecclesiastical environment were abuse scandals are common place. And the result of the pastor being exposed is always the same. Accusations fly back and forth, the victims get thrown under the bus and tarred and feathered by people who are supposed to be part of the same family as them, the offender lies low for a while, goes through some short sham “restoration” program (some get away with skipping that part) and then the offender magically pops up a few months later in a new church, all shiny, revamped, and accepted by a new group of people that are nothing to the Pastor but a fresh, new pool of potential victims. Call me cynical, but I don’t think that is the way the church is supposed to work. Pastors who do this should be in jail. Period. Just like anyone else would be. And the church should be there to help the victims recover. They should not be there to cover for the amoral pastor and make it easy for him to rack up a larger body count later on. Once a pastor commits a crime he should be treated no differently that a person who lives next door to you, and there should not be layers of clericals within the church that work to keep that pastor insulated from any accountability.
There should be no such thing as a “restoration” path for pastors any more than a church treasurer who embezzeld could continue in that position.
Sally Mattis your reply sadly stereotypes women as seductresses and men as predators (the Billy Graham rule).
On occasions I was called to work on Sundays and the pastor would fetch and drop off my wife for church which was a Godly kind act.
Are you saying my wife is a seductress for being alone in the car with a pastor? Is the pastor automatically a man of low morals for being seen alone with another man’s wife?
Sally would you join the wagging tongues brigade with gossip about the pastor and my wife seen together in a car?
How does that make my wife feel? Massively insulting to women.
I am a single 32 year old woman. I choose now to never be alone in a room, car alone with a married male staff member of my church. That way nothing can happen to me. And he can’t accuse me of trying to do something to him. If I meet with male church staff members. I always make sure that there is a woman there as well. And I would do the same thing if I was married. I went on a mission trip a few years ago and I made the mistake of staying in a van with the married youth pastor. He’s my age. But he was missing his wife and his son who was a toddler. And he ended up confiding in me about how much he missed his wife. And while nothing happened sexually. He did admit that he started to develop feelings for me briefly. It’s just better to avoid that whole type of situation.
Ashley, that is very sad.
You wrote I choose never to be alone with a married male staff member of my church.
Would that apply if the environment was not a church?
Would you feel unsafe in a church but would feel safe in other secular environments such as an office, factory, gym, theatre, boardroom.
You can be as wary as needed for your own safety, but if you feel compelled to be wary of male staff members in your church then you cannot be safe there.
I wish you all the best and hope you find a pastor you can trust one day.
or, you know, we could just have better pastors? I don’t want anyone in leadership who only doesn’t molest children because there are rules about it. it’s clear that those rules don’t matter anyway. I want people in leadership with self control, and the ability to have appropriate relationships with everyone.
We need to start appointing pastors based on character not charisma. And we certainly shouldn’t have 20 year old “pastors”.
‘And we certainly shouldn’t have 20 year old “pastors”’. Excellent point!
It’s amazing how these megachurch pastors cover up for each other and help restore each other to the ministry after they have caught in scandal. On October 20, 2014, Robert Morris had the disgraced Mark Driscoll, who had just been removed from Mars Hill Church in Seattle by his own elders for abusive misconduct, appear at Gateway Church to receive the customary standing ovation for such cases.
Morris stated concerning Driscoll, “It is very sad that in the church we’re the only army that shoots at our
wounded. And I want you to stop it.” Driscoll was the perpetrator, not the victim or the wounded one, but Morris cleverly portrayed Driscoll as the victim.
https://wthrockmorton.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Transcript-Robert-Morris-Mark-Driscoll.pdf
For Morris to rush to the defense of abusive preachers like Driscoll tells us a lot about the kind of man Morris is. Let us now keep a close eye to see which preachers now run to Morris’ defense to help him to be “restored” to the ministry. Preachers who stand by each other in this cozy club of clergy abusers are probably not worthy of our support or trust.
I have come to trust your reporting, Julie. I have found it to be consistently balanced and well supported with verifiable, objective information.
So I encourage you and TRR to keep this sad news coming. I hate to see it, but for the sake of justice, for healing, and for the integrity of the Body of Christ it must be shared in cases like this.
Because whether intentionally, or through bad policy or implementation of policy by church leadership with the best of intentions, these offenses did occur and some of my brothers and sisters in Christ were seriously hurt by those they should have been able to trust. That breaks my heart, and I am confident it also grieves our Lord. (Jeremiah 9: 23-24)
The church said he went through a church “process”… shouldn’t that process include reporting this to the police?
First, before anyone gets the wrong idea, I am not writing to endorse Robert Morris’ sin, or to downplay what happened to Cindy Clemishire, or to debate his ministry qualifications. I am simply writing to present more insight of the man. At the following link, 10 months ago, Robert Morris shared with his church his testimony. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l14PCQI6Xw4. At 6:19 minutes he shared how he was abused from age 3-10 years of age and at 20:29 minutes how he was verbally, physically and sexually abused by his mother. Morris came from a family of brokenness. He also shared in the video, his grandmother was 42 when his mom was born. Her other children were already grown and his mom was not wanted. His mom’s dad was murdered when she was 16 and she had to see his bloodied body. The tragedies she suffered created within her an inability to bond with Morris when he was born. In the video, he talks about more of those details and how it affected him. All of this proves the statistics that abusers have also been abused themselves. It can become a lineage of brokenness and abuse. This does not excuse his abuse toward Clemishire, but there will be no restitution (the same as is being sought for Clemishire) for him for the wrongs he suffered at his mother’s hands, and of course, no compassion. More questions. Why is no one talking about Clemishire’s parents to the degree of the others involved in this mess? Who leaves their underage daughter alone with any man? Why didn’t her father call the police and take care of the matter? Why did he leave that for her to “live” with for all these years?
I was with you until you got to “what about her parents”. they weren’t leaving her alone with a man, he was married with a family, and a pastor at that point. Groomers are very good at grooming not just their victim, but everyone around to believe that the are trustworthy, and not harmful. THAT’S why her parents believed it was ok to entrust their daughter to another pastors family.
Jen: i completely agree with what you said up to the point that the father learned that Robert was molesting her. Why did he handle it internally? To protect the church and his own reputation in Hominy Oklahoma? He really didn’t have a right to do that. He (father) caused a miscarriage of justice to occur for 40 years. Terrible.
For the record, the story Morris related about his abuse as a child could be fictional. Predators, like Morris, use lies, and emotional strings to manipulate their victims. Abuse victims can make two choices I will hurt others the way I was hurt or I never want anyone to be hurt the way I was hurt. IF the story of his abuse was true he made the choice to hurt others as he was hurt, and then continued to con, manipulate and exploit others to hide the abuse.
He said his mother was “not” the one who sexually abused him.
Many children grow up in dysfunctional families. Not all become abusers and there’s a lot more that’s different here, too.
He was going behind his host and friend’s back with the underage daughter of his host and friend WHILE PREACHING FROM GOD’S WORD! Then going on to be a pastor.
That makes it VERY different.
The fact he seems to have never been transparent about the crime either shows that he was disqualified all these years (because he wasn’t “beyond reproach” if he was living a lie) and puts serious question marks around his salvation (John 14:16-17).
Finally, abuse in the RCC often happened because parents blindly trusted the priest.
The father of Cindy obviously blindly trusted his preacher friend, Morris. As far as I understood it, they were initially sleeping in separate bedrooms on the same floor. That is still not unusual for your guests!
it probably WASN’T blind trust though- in any of these cases. Groomers are incredibly good at grooming the entire community. That’s why when their abuse comes out, people are devistated- because the abuser was so good at building trust and appearing to have character.
the first step to being a very good liar is to convince everyone you’re a very bad liar- so they think your lies could only be the truth.
Maybe it makes it VERY DIFFERENT FOR YOU and NOT UNUSUAL FOR YOU TO DO! but not for me. I would never blindly trust my child or grandchild to anyone, not even a preacher friend! Not buying it one bit! I agree with Deidra. Everyone has some explaining to do.
“Who leaves their underage daughter alone with any man?”
People trust pastors. Even more so 40 years ago.
How do we know if morris is telling the truth about his childhood?
I am asking this question, too. If this man can live out a lie as he has done with no remorse, no shame
and stand in a pulpit and use the Lord God in vain for his own selfish intentions, why would we believe anything he says?
The entire premise is flawed. A person who has been abused themselves does not then have the right to abuse others later on and then skate on it just because they were abused in their own childhood. There is no excuse for that, and honestly, it is absolutely the lowest form of excuse to alleviate any responsibility for abusing someone else in any way. It’s called the “Feel sorry for me, I’m a victim too” defense and it is as lame as they come. It tries to take the blame and focus away from the abuser and place it at the feet of someone who probably isn’t even around anymore. And the perp is supposed to walk away clean with everyone forgetting the victim and feeling sorry for the abuser. That is not the way it is supposed to work. That does not render the violations of the abuser moot. There is NO excuse to abuse someone. Ever.
People have to sleep. Exhausted parents fall asleep more quickly, easily, and deeply than lusty young men. Clemishire’s family has suffered plenty, I have no doubt, and Robert Morris’s sufferings don’t count on this score. So, we lay no blame on the Clemishires.
I’m glad you posted this. I watched the message you’re referring to earlier today. I know we’re not supposed to falsely accuse. But, given what we’ve learned this week, I wondered if he made the whole story up because he knew Cindy’s story would eventually catch up with him. He didn’t tell the story until his mom was already passed away. And he coulda told Henry Cloud, his dad, sister and Debbie a made up story to garner sympathy. Robert has already proven he is selfish, predatory, calculating and manipulative. Many have said they believe he is a narcissist. I would not be surprised to learn he’d sell out his own mother to get off the hook for his crime(s).
The death of Judy Woodliff should be investigated.
Respectfully You are Embellishing this. Shame on You.
Ugggg so painful. I was a member from 2003-2017. So sadden by this. No words.
I don’t understand why she stopped pursuing him. Why did her emails just stop after that? Didn’t she reach out to RM again in 2008? There’s so many questions. Poor Cindy. I feel for her.
I was victomized by religion also, only to be thrown out into the street penniless 20 years later.
What happened to you, Gabriel? How are you doing now?
The Warburg Watch goes into further detail and even has screenshots of correspondence between CC and a member of Gateway who had reached out to RM in 2009 when she found about the abuse. As well between that member and Tom Lane.
Thanks for that WW alert. They have *tons* of stuff on this.
This article appears to continue in the character of the honest reporting I have come to expect from Julie Roys. Especially appreciate that she includes the entire email thread, all of which I read, provided by Ms. Clemishire. If key emails have been omitted, let Gateway furnish them.
I am *sorry* and *sad* for the lifelong pain experienced by Ms. Clemishire. Having had two close female friends who were repeatedly sexually abused when they were too young and too powerless to resist, I attest that females do not just “shake off” this traumatic history. For many women, there will be lifelong repercussions….actually let me say *daily* repercussions.
I am also sad for the horrible judgment and unwillingness to immediately correct his behavior exhibited by Mr. Morris. I am sad that this has created so much shame and pain for him.
At the end of the day, though, Mr. Morris and the massive church “edifice” behind him failed, in my opinion, to genuinely and fully make things right (or as right as could be humanly possible) with Ms. Clemishire.
I am sad too for Ms Clemishire, the burden she’s carried without recourse to justice for so many decades is breathtakingly awful.
I feel no pity for Robert Morris however. He was born again of the Holy Spirit and proselytizing the faith for the last 40 years, but absolutely refusing to do the primary task Christ called him to do: repent. Now the world can see that Robert Morris has consistently demonstrated NO evidence of any God possessing his life, NO evidence of growing towards righteousness, NO evidence of being constitutionally transformed into someone who mirrors Jesus. All those years of being a preacher turned out to be merely performance for an audience and a way to make a living. He’s an actor, not a Christian. And those who’ve covered up for him are no different.
I’ll save my compassion for people like Cindy Clemshire.
Exactly 100% this! So well said!!! The only way he could think he should be a pastor after being a predator, a philandering married man and a believer is that he was/is a narcissistic man motivated by his ego, not his devotion to Jesus. Could he have been abused? Of course but that does not give you freedom to abuse or automatically make one an abuser. He should have sought help for his predatory ways, having had 4 YEARS to realize he had a problem and went into a different line of work in my opinion.
I’m reminded of God telling Moses that He’s *surely* SEEN the oppression of His people, that He’s HEARD their cries, that He KNOWS their sorrows, and how He’s making the way for their deliverance (Ex.3).
Judgment begins in the house of God, yes, that’s true. I think one of the purposes for what He’s doing right now is watching to see how His Body will respond- to the VICTIMS.
God help those who still defend, twist Scripture, and take the side of the oppressors, abusers, liars, and those who are (still) complicit in all of this.
We’ve known things have been corrupt for a long time, but now some of the exposure is hopefully opening eyes. Reading people’s comment shows how MUCH abuse (physical, psychological, emotional, etc.) has been done in the Name of Christ.
This hour reminds me of when God showed Ezekiel what was *really* happening behind the walls (Ezekiel 8) in His sanctuary. We have to see, not ignore, the ugly truths before real change can begin to happen.
I so appreciate The Roys Report for their steadfastness and swiftness in reporting the truth with excellence and integrity.
Thank God He is who He is…..grace and mercy for both victim and perpetrator of any crime…….
Grace if for those who sincerely repent and turn away from evil. There is, according to the scripture, no grace or mercy shown to those who show no grace or mercy to others. For them it is judgment. Jesus is a rock that is currently falling on a whole lot of false “Christian” teachers and the henchmen making a large profit by working for them. He will crush them that have so severely crushed others. If Jesus does not do this than He lied to us in so many such scriptures…
We are talking about things said and done within the community of Christian churches. I don’t see anyone talking about forgiveness. And if the lady who was abused has received any psychotherapy she should have learned about how letting go of resentment is good for the offender and the victim both. I know what I’m saying is very hard to do but Christianity is hard to do. This is where the rubber meets the road. Do we obey Jesus or not?
This is so true. The thing that is equally disgusting in so many of these sexual abuse cases is how the victim has clearly not forgiven the offender and the “Christians” around them affirm them in their unforgiveness (oftentimes not by explicitly justifying it but by staying silent and not admonishing it when they know better). You can’t possibly harmonize extorting somebody for $2M and the claim that you have forgiven them, that is such an absurd twisting of the normal meaning of language. If this woman persists in this she will not have her own sins forgiven and is headed for Gehenna, as Jesus was very emphatic on in multiple places. Sadly, likely nobody around her will dare warn her about this as it would be tangentially “blaming the victim”, which is the most horrible thing that you could possibly do in our society.
If you have the proper perspective of how much God has forgiven us, then forgiving others really isn’t that hard — it is just a matter of having the right perspective. The difficulty of forgiving others is directly proportional to how self-righteous one is.
This man belongs in prison.
None of us know all the details. I’m praying for this poor woman who is obviously terribly wounded. But those of us who are believers need to remember who the enemy is and it’s not flesh and blood. Division makes the enemy happy. I don’t think we want that. Pray for ALL involved. They all need cleansing, healing and restoration.
He divided himself when he raped a child, lied about it for decades, and is now downplaying what he did.
The most recent email from Robert in that chain, sure sounds like the writing of an attorney – it’s very carefully and thoughtfully written, as to posture up in a defensive position, while putting some guilt on the victim and bringing her dad into it.
Cindy wasn’t tolerating Robert’s handing this off to Tom and avoiding her.
Matthew 24 is coming true in our lifetimes, in front of our faces, and these “men” who are cowardly serpents, are destroying entire churches with their hollowed-out character. They’re men without chests, as Lewis would say. I would say more about Morris, but I doubt Julie would tolerate it in these comments.
On a more serious note, I’ve been wondering about this for some time. Julie, when I read the Roys Report, I’m glad that it exposes the disgusting sin and corruption that it finds in various churches. Typically, with leadership of those churches. I’ve learned a lot about following Jesus and not celebrities. However, I’m unclear as to how this is connected to the overall Evangelical church in America. I’m not talking about the world’s perception or who hates the Evangelicals or who the Evangelicals vote for. I mean, is this something that seems to be endemic to the Evangelical church overall? Or are these just a few bad apples who I agree should be thrown into a furnace. You would have a much better birds-eye view than I do, so I’m genuinely curious what you think.