Robert Morris the former pastor of Gateway Church and the founder of the Southlake, Texas megachurch, has been in a complicated legal fight with Gateway Church in recent months. The headlines say “Robert Morris suing Gateway Church,” but the truth is more complicated: Morris and the church are both suing each other, and the church is also suing Morris for things he allegedly did wrong in the past.
What triggered the Dispute?
Morris quit his position as a leader of Gateway Church in June 2024 after multiple people accused him publicly of sexually assaulting a minor in the 1980s. Legal filings show that Morris sent a letter to the church on September 25, 2024, the day after he quit, asking for a large retirement package. This package included a lump sum payment of about US $1 million and annual payments of US $600,000 to $800,000 for the rest of his and his wife’s lives. The church didn’t agree to those requests and tried to take the case to court, asking the court to require arbitration or stop Morris’ claim in some other way.
What are the legal claims and positions?
From Morris’ side: He believes that there was a verbal or implied agreement with Gateway Church for additional retirement benefits beyond his formal remuneration package and that the church is bound to pay them. The church’s filing says that Morris’ claimed past behaviour meant that the church didn’t have to pay such benefits.
The church says that Morris’s demands are “outrageous” and wants the case to be heard in public court instead of private arbitration. They say that transparency is crucial since it is in the public’s best interest.
Are there more lawsuits that are similar to Morris v. Gateway?
Yes, there are two main legal issues that are linked:
- Cindy Clemishire the woman who says Morris sexually abused her, and her father filed a civil case in June 2025 against Morris, his wife, and members of the Gateway Church leadership. They claim defamation, conspiracy, failure to report, emotional distress and more saying that Gateway Church and Morris hid the abuse and made money from it.
- A group of church members are suing Gateway Church (with Morris as founder) for lying about how it used tithes, saying that Gateway promised 15% of tithes would go to missions but did not keep that promise. Morris joined a move to throw out that case.
What the situation is right now:
- A court in Tarrant County, Texas, told Morris and Gateway to start mediation or arbitration talks within around 30 days. A hearing recorded Morris’ attorney claiming there was “not a snowball’s chance in heck” they would agree on an arbitrator acceptable to both sides.
- Gateway is refusing private arbitration, preferring a public courtroom process owing to the “newsworthy” nature of the issue. Morris’ side wants a “Christian arbitrator” instead of a non-religious one. The criminal prosecution against Robert Morris is still going on because of the alleged abuse.
That criminal aspect is separate thing but it has an effect on the civil and contractual disputes.
Conclusion:
So the question whether the Gateway Church is being sued by Robert Morris? The answer is Yes but it’s more complex than that. Morris has filed a lawsuit against Gateway Church for the retirement benefit payments saying that he is trying to enforce what he believes is a contractual right but the Church has tried to challenge that lawsuit by requesting the court to refuse the payment.
Gateway is in risk of being sued by former church members and the abuse-victim case, while Morris is at risk of being sued by the same survivor and dealing with criminal charges.
This lawsuit will probably take longer time to settle and it might rely on how the court view the alleged benefit agreement, whether Morris is still liable to it based on how the church operates and whether the public interest favours transparency over private negotiations. This legal dispute is still up and it still in the pre-trial stage.
