Gateway Church has appointed two established evangelical ministers to serve as interim pastors after the megachurch’s founder and senior pastor, Robert Morris, resigned following revelations of his previous acts of child sexual abuse.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Max Lucado, an evangelical San Antonio pastor, and Joakim Lundqvist, a leader of a megachurch in Sweden, will share responsibilities, the church told its congregants on Sunday.
Gateway, headquartered in Southlake with 10 satellite churches across three states, has been embroiled in scandal after Morris was publicly accused of sexually abusing a girl over a four-and-a-half-year period in the 1980s, beginning when she was 12, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
In June, Morris admitted to the abuse, which occurred when he was in his 20s. He said he asked for forgiveness and went to religious counseling called “freedom ministry,” according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Morris said that he left the ministry in the church where he was working in the 1980s for two years before returning with the blessing of the girl’s father and leaders of that church, reported the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Gateway elder Tra Willbanks told the congregation Sunday that the church was slow to release information on the abuse because the church had contracted a law firm to conduct an independent investigation.
However, Willbanks apologized on stage for the characterization of Cindy Clemishire, the woman who was abused by Morris as a child, as a “young lady,” adding that the church is praying for her. He characterized Morris’ actions as unacceptable.
He also announced that Robert Morris’ son and daughter-in-law, James and Bridgette Morris, would be leaving the church to establish a new one elsewhere. James and Bridgette Morris said in a scripted statement that they loved the church and would pray for its members.
During Lucado’s recent sermon last weekend, his first sermon as co-interim pastor, he compared the exposure of child sexual abuse by Morris and the troubles the church was having to the story of Jesus and the disciples on the Sea of Galilee during a storm, during which Jesus walked on water.
He told congregants the disciples were terrified when the storm hit while Jesus was asleep. They awoke him and asked him to save them but were surprised that he did not seem concerned.
Lucado told the congregation that Jesus told them not to be afraid and to have faith, comparing the storm to the news that Morris had abused a child.
Lucado heads up a large congregation in San Antonio at Oak Hills Church. He will deliver sermons about twice a month at Gateway while continuing to lead his own flock. He said he is taking on the interim pastor role with the blessings of his church, reported the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Lucado grew up in Andrews, a small town in West Texas, and attended Abilene Christian University. He led a church in Florida before going to Oak Hills.
Lundqvist, the other interim pastor, told members in a recorded video that he was excited to take on the role. He will also continue his position with the church he leads in Sweden.
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Willbanks said the church has already taken steps to find a new senior pastor and expects a decision within six months.