Category 5
Verdict: Robert Morris is a fraud and ravenous wolf.
Preface
Part of how this Discernment ministry operates is taking in reader questions about prevalent teachers. Robert Morris was tied for the most active requests. You can make a request here and see our answered verdicts here.
Biography
Pastor Robert Morris is the founding senior pastor of Gateway Church, a megachurch based in Dallas, Texas. He was born on July 29, 1961, in Houston, Texas. Growing up in a Christian family, Morris came to faith at the age of 15. He attended college at East Texas State University (now Texas A&M University-Commerce) but did not complete his degree. Instead, he felt called to enter full-time ministry.
Morris began his ministry as an associate pastor at a small Baptist church in 1983. He later founded Gateway Church in 2000 with just 30 people meeting in a living room. Under his leadership, Gateway grew to become one of the largest churches in America, with multiple campuses and thousands of members.
Robert Morris is known for his practical and dynamic teaching style. He has authored several books, including The Blessed Life, The God I Never Knew, and Take the Day Off. Morris and his wife, Debbie, have been married since 1980 and have three children and multiple grandchildren.
Sex Abuse Scandal[1]
The uniqueness of Robert Morris compared to other Prosperity Gospel preachers, alleged or founded, is that Robert Morris hid the sins of his past from so many people for decades. The reproach of Robert Morris committing child sexual abuse deserves greater attention than even his doctrine.
Beginning in late 1982, Robert Morris molested Cindy Clemishire when she was 12 years old. The conduct continued until 1987. While visiting a family friend, Robert Morris took advantage and inappropriately touched their daughter. While the father failed to press charges, Robert Morris was forced out of ministry, a hiatus that only lasted until 1989.
Robert Morris writes about this in his book From Dream to Destiny where he states that God orchestrated events in his life to humble him. Robert Morris admits to committing child molestation, in the most innocuous way possible.
When I was in my early twenties, I was involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady in a home where I was staying. It was kissing and petting and not intercourse, but it was wrong. This behavior happened on several occasions over the next few years. In March of 1987, this situation was brought to light, and it was confessed and repented of. I submitted myself to the Elders of Shady Grove Church and the young lady’s father. They asked me to step out of ministry and receive counseling and freedom ministry, which I did. Since that time, I have walked in purity and accountability in this area.
Two years later, in March of 1989, I stepped back into ministry with the full blessing of the elders and her father. In October of 1989, Debbie and I met with her and her family, and I asked their forgiveness, and they graciously forgave
me.
This sin was dealt with correctly by confession and repentance, which I did in 1987 and 1989.”
Robert Morris downplays his actions, specifically the continued course of conduct of four years, and uses “young lady” which discerning elders should have suspected was a minor, especially when her father was in the picture.
Robert Morris would soon resign in disgrace following the public disclosure of his 35-year-old reproach. Gateway Church would even part ways with James Morris, the son of Robert Morris, over the scandal. And Robert Morris’s son-in-law would secede from Gateway Church and rebrand his respective multicampus megachurch franchise.
Gateway Church
Robert Morris was the long-time pastor of Gateway Church. Currently, Max Lucado is the interim pastor of Gateway while they transition to find new leadership. Gateway Church boasted 100k attendance. Gateway Church is a typical charismatic, egalitarian, multicampus megachurch.
Gateway Church has a Zionist ministry called Gateway Center For Israel.[2] Although they reluctantly state that they want Jews to know Jesus, the primary goal of Gateway Center For Israel is to preserve the Jewish identity and culture.
For nearly 2,000 years — up until the horrific events of the Holocaust in World War II — the Christian community’s relationship with the Jewish people leaned heavily on a “biblical” love: Share the Gospel of Jesus, become a “Christian” and join the Church. Biblical love, yes. Sincere love, usually no.
Here, Gateway criticizes the church for evangelizing and then assimilating Jews into Christian culture, calling this practice unloving. They admit that their approach is novel, post-WWII in which they prioritize celebrating Modern Judaism and its loose connection to antiquity.
We’re committed to the the Jewish people with an unbreakable love. But we also love the Arab community, including the Palestinians. Our approach is not based on a “zero sum” framework. We believe it was in God’s creative plan to make an earthly and eternal distinction between Israel and the Nations — Jew and Gentile — because He wants us to love, serve and bless one another equally while remaining distinct as Jews, Arabs, Americans or Texans (yes, there’s a difference!)
Additionally, Gateway teaches that Modern Jews will have a distinct (and elevated) position in Heaven. Indeed many Zionists believe that Christians will bow to Jews in Heaven.
Gateway Church affirms that Jewish people who put their faith in Jesus should continue living a Jewish life. We have hundreds of members who are Jewish followers of Jesus, and we celebrate this, encouraging the global Church to do the same.
Gateway Church insists that these converts to Christianity become Messianic Jews, rather than Christians of their host nations. Messianic Judaism is a late nineteenth-century tradition that is characterized by hyper-charismaticism and Judaizing. Gateway Church, similar to the teachings of John Hagee, has chastised early Christians for disassociating Christianity from Ancient Judaism.[3] Gateway Church also has The King’s University (TKU) which places a large emphasis on Messianic Judaism. They even have a Social Justice degree program where one can acquire a degree in Antisemitism and Jewish Advocacy.[4] Gateway Church panders to pagans and goes woke in the process. As this church is a reflection of Robert Morris’s doctrine, these red flags factor into the overall verdict.
Egalitarianism
Robert Morris is an egalitarian pastor. Evangelical Dark Web has consistently noted that those who began their journey in an egalitarian tradition should not automatically be labeled false teachers, and those who move toward egalitarianism are in a process of deconstruction. As previously noted, Morris began in a Baptist background and has strayed into egalitarianism. This is a red flag.
Prosperity Gospel
Robert Morris is often labeled a Prosperity Gospel preacher. Whenever pastors place a large emphasis on their teachings on tithing, it tends to draw this suspicion. But it’s clear, that giving the “first” ten percent is a large emphasis on Morris’s teaching[5] and arguably his success. Moreover, when Robert Morris speaks as a guest at other megachurches, this is often the message that he brings.[6] While preaching at Willow Creek Community Church, Morris offered a money-back guarantee on tithing. He even goes so far as to teach that people are accursed for not tithing.[7] Much of this is premised on an incorrect teaching and application of Malachi 3.
The charge of Prosperity Gospel is perhaps not precise. The Prosperity Gospel teaches that health and wealth are promises of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Robert Morris is better characterized as a salesman fleecing his flock so that he can enjoy luxuries. And his view of tithing and doing a money-back guarantee is akin to any sales pitch. Simply put, Robert Morris views the church as a business with his teaching of tithing.
Moreover, Robert Morris has endorsed multiple Prosperity preachers including TD Jakes who is one of “his pastors;” Creflo Dollar, the most obvious false teacher by name; and Joyce Meyer whom Evangelical Dark Web has written about being a false teacher.[8] Robert Morris does not necessarily preach a Prosperity Gospel but he’s adjacent to those who do.
False Prophecy
Robert Morris claimed to have received a private revelation from God. This section will not weigh in on the validity of this in general. Rather, we will demonstrate that Morris’s revelation was not of God. Robert Morris claimed that he received a revelation from God that he should put his wife, Debbie Morris, first, prioritizing her over God. He claims God told him when you put your wife first, “you are putting Me first.” As Collin Miller points out, this is biblically untenable.[9] This is a textbook example of false prophecy which is discrediting to his ministry.
Social Justice and Critical Race Theory
Robert Morris has gone woke and promoted the term White privilege. It’s quite common that megachurches pandered in the wake of George Floyd, and Robert Morris is no exception.[10]
Conclusion
The sex scandal of Robert Morris makes him more sinister as a teacher than a garden variety Prosperity preacher or aspiring megachurch pastor. It’s a case study of how he takes advantage of trusting environments for his own personal satisfaction. But for those who are not nonbiologically related 12-year-old girls in his household, he has taken advantage of the church for his financial gain with a net worth widely reported to be around $117 million. While it’s not clear how high his net worth actually is, it is clear that Robert Morris is well off despite being a renowned salesman of tithing. Additionally, Robert Morris claiming direct revelation to introduce errant teaching is an automatic non-starter.
The biggest concern is that Robert Morris was able to grow so large a platform and how lacking discernment was in the Texas megachurch scene. Gateway Church did not have good theology to start with and even with a merely errant teacher, this local body is a negative influence on the broader church. However, Robert Morris built this monster and influenced many bad pastors in the process.
Although this verdict is published after his scandal, it’s important to document the other issues and warning signs. And these heresies pile high. We award Robert Morris the highest possible warning: Category 5.
[1] https://evangelicaldarkweb.org/2024/06/16/americas-largest-megachurch-pastor-robert-morris-admits-to-child-molestation/
[2] https://centerforisrael.com/about/
[3] https://centerforisrael.com/video/four-reasons-christians-began-separating-from-the-jewish-people/
[4] https://www.tku.edu/academics/messianic-jewish-studies/
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XOhrpHRf78
[6] Ibid
[7] https://youtu.be/cP0uFa4tj58
[8] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9ccv1eNFc8
[9] https://youtu.be/m9ccv1eNFc8
[10] https://x.com/WokePreacherTV/status/1803216384937128121
