Gateway Church founder Robert Morris has insisted on resolving a bitter pay dispute with the Texas megachurch through Christian arbitration, following a district judge’s order to reach an agreement on an arbitrator within 30 days.
The financial agreement Morris is seeking comes after he demanded $1 million upfront plus hundreds of thousands more annually in retirement compensation last year, shortly after he was forced to resign as pastor of the church due to child sex abuse allegations stemming from the 1980s.
Bill Mateja, an attorney for Morris, told The Dallas Morning News on Thursday that the former megachurch leader wants to settle the matter through Christian arbitration because that is part of the terms of Morris’ former employment contract with Gateway Church, based in Southlake.
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“We were heartened today, because it seems clear that the judge would like for a Christian arbitration to take place, and he seemed motivated to bring the parties together to have a Christian arbitration with an arbitrator that both sides could agree upon,” Mateja told DMN.
In a copy of Morris’ former employment contract filed in court in May by Gateway Church, it stipulates that legally binding arbitration should be done through the California-based Institute for Christian Conciliation.
Gateway Church’s lawyers have argued that the church doesn’t have to resolve the dispute through the institute because it has new owners. Morris’ attorneys disagree.
In its May filing, Gateway argued that it’s not obligated to resolve the dispute through the Institute for Christian Conciliation because the institute has new owners.
Morris’ lawyers disputed that in their May response. They argued the organization’s parent ministry might have changed, but its rules for resolving disputes in a Christian, reconciliation-focused way remain essentially the same.
Morris’ lawyers allege in court files 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 a previous court 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 indicted earlier this year 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 when she was 12, and continued with the abuse for four-and-a-half years.
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 primarily stems from allegations that Gateway Church failed to be transparent about the ministry’s finances, as it has generated over $100 million in annual revenue in recent years.
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