Disgraced Gateway Church founder Robert Morris, who resigned from the Southlake, Texas, megachurch last June after he was accused of child sex abuse, demanded a million dollars upfront plus hundreds of thousands more annually in retirement compensation shortly after his exit, but the church refused.
The revelation was made in documents filed by the church in Tarrant County District Court on Tuesday in which officials are seeking to force Morris to honor a dispute-resolution agreement he previously signed, The Dallas Morning News reported.
“Shortly after the troubling revelations about his past conduct came to light last year, Robert Morris reached out to Gateway Church with a series of substantial financial demands,” Gateway Church alleged in the filings. “Gateway Church has chosen not to meet those demands. In response, Robert Morris has filed a lawsuit in arbitration seeking financial compensation. His claims are false and do not reflect accountability for the impact of his actions on the community.”
Morris’ lawyers allege that Gateway Church orally promised him $800,000 per year in retirement pay until he turned 70. After that, he would be paid $600,000 annually until his death. In the event that he would die before his wife, Debbie, those payments would be made to her until she, too, passed.
Gateway Church said in its filing that Morris is also arguing that he is owed just over $1 million in accrued retirement benefits. Morris’ attorneys allege that Gateway Church was required to pay Morris within 60 days of his termination if the termination was without fraud or cause.
Morris has alleged that he was forced out of his position as senior pastor at Gateway Church after the child sex abuse allegations were made public. He said Gateway Church elders told him if he did not resign, he would be fired.
The megachurch founder was recently indicted on five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child by a multi-county grand jury in Oklahoma. The charges stem from allegations made by Cindy Clemishire, who reported that Morris began sexually abusing her on Dec. 25, 1982, when she was 12, and continued with the abuse for four-and-a-half years after that.
In March, Morris also joined with other Gateway Church leaders and public interest law firm First Liberty Institute in asking a federal court to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed by four church members accusing church leaders of misallocating their tithes and failing to honor a money-back guarantee.
The lawsuit was filed in October 2024 by Gateway Church members Katherine Leach, Garry K. Leach, Mark Browder and Terri Browder. In addition to Morris and Gateway Church, it also names as defendants Tom Lane, a former executive pastor of Gateway Church; founding elder Steve Dulin; and Kevin Grove, who previously served as an executive global pastor and elder at Gateway Church and a trustee of The King's University.
The lawsuit stems primarily from allegations that Gateway Church refused to be transparent about the ministry's finances as it has generated over $100 million in annual revenue in past years.
Gateway Church has sought to dismiss the lawsuit for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, arguing that the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine bars the court from considering the claims of the church members. The church also argued that the plaintiffs failed to state a claim in their lawsuit.
In late March, United States District Judge Amos L. Mazzant, of the Eastern District of Texas Sherman Division, granted an emergency motion by Gateway Church to stay discovery in the case pending a resolution of their motion to dismiss the case. On May 10, Mazzant also granted a protective order requested by both parties to limit the disclosure of “proprietary business information (including intellectual property, financial data, or other proprietary information).”
“This Order shall be applicable to and govern all depositions, documents produced in response to requests for production of documents, answers to interrogatories, responses to requests for admission, and all other discovery taken pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,” Mazzant stated.
It will also apply to “testimony adduced at trial, matters in evidence, and other information that the disclosing party designates as ‘Confidential Information’ and/or ‘Highly Confidential – Attorney Eyes Only.’”
