Five weeks after resigning their pastoral positions at Gateway Church, James and Bridgette Morris, the son and daughter-in-law of disgraced megachurch pastor Robert Morris, announced they’re starting a new church and seeking supporters.
This past weekend, James and Bridgette Morris announced their dream to be pastors of a “vibrant church passionate about the presence of God and filled with people who love God and love people” at their website.
James Morris—along with Gateway Elders Kevin Grove, Steve Dulin, and Gayland Lawshe— took a voluntary temporary leave of absence from the Dallas megachurch the end of June. A month later, James and Bridgette Morris resigned.
Robert Morris founded Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, in 2000. He resigned this past June, after bombshell allegations surfaced that he sexually abused Cindy Clemishire, a 54-year-old grandmother from Oklahoma, beginning in 1982, when she was 12.
Clemishire told The Roys Report (TRR) she was 17 years old when she told her parents of the years of abuse that had escalated from inappropriate touching to rape by instrumentation.
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Under his father’s leadership, James served as the church’s associate senior pastor and was expected to assume the top position in 2025. Bridgette Morris served as Gateway Church’s executive pastor.
“We believe God gave us this dream and many prophetic words, beginning when we were young, for such a time as this,” James and Bridgette Morris announced on their webpage. “We are taking time to rest, pray, and hear from the Lord after this last season. We are filled with anticipation, expectation, and hope as we hear from God about when, where, and how to plant a church.”
The couple invited people to support by “walking alongside us or supporting us from afar.”
This is a second relative associated with Morris to distance themselves from the sex scandal involving Morris.
Ethan Fisher, Morris’s son-in-law, rebranded Gateway Church Houston to Newlands Church. Fisher said the name-change was a call from God.
Bridgette shared on Instagram that the couple intentionally took a break from social media “to pursue health, the Word, God’s presence, rest, and invest more in our kids.”
Gateway Church is in the middle of a 40-day prayer and fasting scheduled to conclude Sept. 13. One of the prayer points was for “healing for those who have been wounded by any form of abuse or hurt and that God would bring His comfort and restoration.”
Sheila Stogsdill is a freelance print journalist and digital reporter, primarily covering crime issues for KSN/KODE.
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51 Responses
Gotta keep those cheques rolling in, I guess.
James and Bridgette Morris: “We are filled with anticipation, expectation, and hope as we hear from God about when, where, and how to plant a church.”
I’ve always been curious: How does one know when they are hearing from the Lord? How does one know when the Lord is calling them? How does one know when God has spoken directly to them? Etc. etc. etc.
The claim seems to be an easily convenient claim, but never an easily verifiable claim… except by faith… of those who accept / believe the claimant without hesitation.
Again, how does one know?
When the money rolls in like a righteous flood, you know indeed you have heard from God. Facetious of course, but if the sandal fits, wash your disciples or rather fleece the sheep. Same ol same ol’. I’ve watched it for 50 years plus. Sad. To sad. Especially that it’s always Gods plan that the son take over the mega church Dad built.
The Bible says that “my sheep know my voice”. Speaking from experience I can say that there is a great sense of grace and peace that comes with the voice! It’s really where you want to be, that is, in a place where you can hear His voice! One of the amazing things about God is that he can extend Grace to you even in the midst of a wrong agenda! God loves to extend grace to all of us!
They don’t. They generate it in their own minds. The Bible is the authority, and it is complete. Nobody is getting “prophecy” to advance their careers and income. They seem to have little interest in Jesus and His gospel.
Hebrews 1:1-4
“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”
Hebrews 1:1-3
“Probably the voices you are hearing are NOT from God!
that is very sad, to do that, then go to church on Sunday mornings & preach .Ifeel he shouldn’t be allowed to preach in any church. what kind of preacher does that, that gives good preachers a bad name. these preachers need to be screened & a back ground check. what about that poor woman that probably has emotional problems her life has been turned upside down.
“We believe God gave us this dream and many prophetic words, beginning when we were young, for such a time as this, We are taking time to rest, pray, and hear from the Lord after this last season. We are filled with anticipation, expectation, and hope as we hear from God about when, where, and how to plant a church.”
Translated: Time to start another business and make some money so we can continue our lifestyle!
Vain platitudes of those who have more love of money and power than The Lord.
* The couple invited people to support by “walking alongside us or supporting us from afar.” *
Does this mean, “Send money.”?
Yes. Send money. Mucho dinero. Give until it hurts to show God you mean business and truly trust him to meet your needs. Then and only then can he bless you with like Pennies from Heaven. Asking for money like “they” do is just wrong.
That is what I understood them to be saying.
It means to pray for them.
It’s not likely that anyone commenting here has heard even one of Robert Morris’s sermons. Isn’t that the heart of a church, the sermons and what they do for the people who listen to them? A lot of condemning going on here without a lot of knowledge.
The worst part of all of this is that all of this online sermons have been deleted from the internet, depriving people of their good content. It is the one wrong, the wrong that he did as a young man, erasing all of the good that he did later (at least as far as being able to access his sermons).
I found him to be very effectual in bringing people to Jesus. Perhaps that is why he’s gone. Another thing of note is why he was able to grow his church to so many locations with so many people attending weekly. It is because they found value in what he was doing. Perhaps his job was done –God was finished with him– and now more good will be done now that he’s gone.
You write: “I found him to be very effectual in bringing people to Jesus. Perhaps that is why he’s gone”. ‘Perhaps’ you should consider the pedophilia charges against him as an alternative theory.
Yes. Raping a 12 year old for 4 years erases any good he did while covering up that he raped a 12 year old for 4 years.
And actually, I HAVE heard his sermons, because late in my atheist father’s life, he began watching them on TV for some reason. I even bought my dad a couple of his books, because he was interested, and I certainly wasn’t going to quash that interest.
I am so thankful that my dad passed away in January, before seeing this mans gross hypocrisy.
The way I see it is that any gospel that has room for a man to rape a 12 year old and cover it up is not a true gospel. It has not transformed Morris enough to 1. have prevented him from raping a 12 year old (he was a pastor at the time) or 2. repenting, atoning, and making reparations for raping a 12 year old in the last 4 decades. That is not a gospel that transforms. It may SOUND like it’s of Jesus, but it’s not.
Did God use Morris? Maybe. Time will tell if the people he led are transformed- his grifting kids don’t seem to be, as they’re still seeking money and power. His grifting church doesn’t seem to be, for the same reasons. And he certainly doesn’t seem to be, as he’s gone silent to wait out the storm and continues to fail to take any accountability.
“Isn’t that the heart of a church, the sermons and what they do for the people who listen to them?”
No. The heart of a church is Jesus and the way the congregants grow as disciples and become more like Jesus. Sermons are one way of communicating who Jesus is and what he is like, but in a society with mass literacy and Bibles available in every language and medium, sermons aren’t the main way congregants learn about Jesus.
Robert Morris was a prosperity preacher. He would preach the same sermon, re-title it to sell separate copies (as though new sermons) on dvds and encourage their purchase in the book store in the church. “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:24) And all the while, (my husband and I attended there two years) he was bringing his ‘sermons’ before many people knowing a woman who he [allegedly] abused as a child was communicating via email with him to receive compensation only for counseling to sort through his abuse of her. From experience, I can’t even pray for another person until I know that all is well between me and the Lord Jesus, let alone witness or dare act as though I have it all together enough to preach before multitudes of people. May God have mercy ..
I am of a mindset with you. I have found all of Pastor Robert’s teachings to be in alignment with God’s Holy Word.
Reminds me of Kmart’s last stand.
As the retail giant was dying and in it’s final days, someone in their marketing department decided to rebrand as Big K, where they publicly pretended everything was new and nobody would notice it’s the same store and same products.
I believe Gateway Church was wrong! As Christians we are told you confess your sins and live a good life God will forgive you. I will support James wherever he goes.I stopped my tithe to Gateway when they made Pastor Robert resign.I want to know when James gets his church going.That is where I will send my tithe,as of now it’s going to Southeast Christian Louisville Ky.So sorry about all that has transpired.It has shaken me to the core.
Yes, Gateway Church was very wrong for letting him resign. They should have FIRED him the moment they learned he was a BOLD FACE LIER. Then they should have cleaned house with the rest of his cronies that covered for him.
He destroyed a young woman’s life and self esteem. He managed to avoid years in prison. I am happy that there are Christian’s who visit those on prison but do not demand the be freed because they are forgiven or “Find God”. I see she is suing the church for neglect. Good thing your tithe no longer goes there for she will likely get it for herself multiplied by a million I hope.
James was part of the inner-circle staff that allowed Robert’s abuse to stay secret for so long, and who initially didn’t ask him to resign until it was having financial impact.
James is just as corrupt as his father because he was leadership that was complicit in covering up his father’s sin, and his church will be just as corrupt as Gateway.
The lives, ministry & teaching do not reveal Christ or the truth of Gods Word! They are teaching a false doctrine ! Nothing about this church is God honoring! The people who follow are being falsely taught & misled & lied to….down the road to destruction! So sad!
I’m confused, Sandra. You stopped giving to Gateway when they “made” Robert Morris resign. I just have to ask, cause I am possibly reading into your life incorrectly – do you disagree that Robert Morris resigned? (Just asking – I may have read into the line incorrectly.)
I too believe in Pastor Robert. I feel strongly that he made a mistake paid for it and moved on. He really is anointed by God, possibly for such a time as this..It is clear to me his ministry is meant to expose the age old problem of inappropriate parenting, designing women, and sexual abuse in all its ugliness..It’s too bad his associates and past supporter’s couldnt trust in him and chose to turn on him. God speaks through Robert Morris. This is the time to listen, not run scared. Yes this is a very taboo subject, God doesn’t reign only in fair weather, but during the storms of life as well..What happened to forgiving? Let he who is without sin cast the first stone? Bring him back and let him continue God’s work! It grieves my spirit that every supporter this man ever had, has blotted him out like he never existed. Shame be on each and every one of you. God be with you Pastor and your beautiful
Pastors who rape children should never be pastors again. Pastors should not get a SECOND chance to hurt people, no matter how silver-tongued they are as a speaker.
as for casting stones, this is a total misuse of that biblical situation. Jesus was saving a woman from an unjust punishment there, not suggesting a child-rapist be returned to the pulpit.
Whatever gospel Morris Sr was preaching, it had plenty of room for men to rape children in it. Whatever gospel his son is preaching has plenty of room for decades of covering for child rapists in it. Neither are the Gospel of Christ- which suggest they both tie on millstones and jump in the Sea of Gallilee. I reject any “gospel” that doesn’t transform people at least enough to not rape children or cover it up.
This is the grossest comment I’ve ever seen. He ruined a you girls life and you are blaming everyone except the man who sexually abused her for 4 years. He is not a man of God, he doesn’t follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and you everything wrong with the world today.
How exactly did he “pay for it?” He faced no consequences.
I’m pretty sure as Christians you are told not to rape children too.
i’m so confused on why he gets to continue to work in church, i hope justice is served and even though she will never heal from this…. justice system always fails :(
How many times do we forgive 70 times 7 , always forgiveness with our Heavenly Father, we need to pray that God’s grace and mercy for all of the church ,no man is perfect, we all need to repent and sin no more , God works all things out
Forgiveness does not include enabling people to continue to do harm.
Pastors should only get one chance to harm the flock- after that, they are restored to community, but not authority. James is complicit in covering up the harm his father did- that shows lack of character and judgement, and disqualifies him from authority and leadership.
there are many many many jobs available that do not include having the authority and ability to abuse people in them. he should get one of those.
Gateway church I’m sorry to say is a family business. These children of Robert Morris have always stated this was their Dad’s church. Not God’s. They gave the praise and the glory to their Dad’s. James was nominated by his father Robert Morris with the claim no one else was could fill the position of senior pastor. These weak, sheep elders went right along with this. James and Bridget resined as did their sister and her husband Ethan. Yet they are still receiving salaries. What a joke! This family business is all about one thing and it’s not God! It’s Money! It always was. These people did little preaching and received enormous salaries. And in most cases half the year off.
Mark, I’m very slow to think this way about churches. I tend to give the benefit of the doubt to churches. There’s a whole lot more good going on than bad, generally. But your entire paragraph is spot on by what I can see… and honestly, have seen for a long time at Gateway. Gateway was appalling to me 10 years ago, before any of this came to light.
This is so sad
It is a true example of Satan at work. We need to pray for all involved in this mess. We are all sinners and fall short.
God is good and will provide.
His love conquers all
Satan is delighted . I am so sad about this. Pastor Robert was a superb teacher
Robert Morris raped a 12 year old for 4 years while he was a pastor. It doesn’t matter what kind of teacher he was- the words were poison because they had no power to transform his own life enough to keep him from raping a child, how could it possibly bring transformation to anyone.
And the grift goes on.
I wonder if Robert Morris will make an appearance to blee the new enterprise?
” The worst evils which have ever come upon the World have been brought upon her by an unholy church.” Charles Spurgeon, “Morning and Evening”, evening reading for June 26 .
I recently returned to my Lords path he has chosen for me & was Officially baptised. I’ve seen too many Pastors turned to the Devil’s Sin for Money, it is sad sad!!! They live luxurious lifestyles while the Parisioners struggle to survive, it’s Satans evil plan, we must defeat it & return to the True path God has set for us!! If we can’t trust God’s Teachers, who can we trust!! We can trust our Devine Lord, Jesus!!
I thank God is not many of you who continue condemning pastor Morris
How would you feel if we condemned you of your past.
God help us to learn the meaning of Grace
If I used my authority to rape a 12 year old for 4 years, and then covered it up for 40 years, I would be deserving of every ounce of condemnation. In fact, it would be better for me to have a millstone tied around my neck and thrown into the sea of Galilee. Roberts got off easy if all he lost is his church. He stole her childhood, he should have lost his freedom.
Susan B. Anthony made an observation that seems germane to this discussion:
“I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires.”― Susan B. Anthony
Add to that a strong dose of Flannery O’Conner and we have a foundation of some utility for performing due diligence before aligning with any church:
“To know oneself is, above all, to know what one lacks. It is to measure oneself against Truth, and not the other way around. The first product of self-knowledge is humility . . .”― Flannery O’Connor
It is amazing how much God talks to or leads these men. It must be awesome having a direct line to the Almighty. Jesus never tells them to go get a regular job. With all that resting, praying, and hopefulness..
or has any concerns about the amount of money they’re taking in or the oppulence they live in. God seems to be pretty quiet, even on board with all of that. Seems suspiscioussly opposite of scripture….
It is interesting that Jesus never tells these guys to get a 9-5 job. Or to join and put themselves under the authority of a theologically sound and healthy local church. No, Jesus always seems to be telling them to continue the grift with new and shinny packaging.
Vance. Yes. This. Just a little common sense by these Christians (and I am a Christian.) But once I hear a speaker say “God told me…” I turn him/her off. He told you but He didn’t tell me?
He told us all, though His Word… that’s when He has spoken to us.
Morris should never again be able to be a Pastor of any Church!! It was covered up by a lot of people!! He should also have to pay back all the money he and his family scammed from the innocent believers!! My God is a loving God but people have to be held responsible for their actions.
They can start a church right now in their living room, no money, building or other accoutrements needed. But that may not support the lifestyle they have grown to love