![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/CT_churchprotest_03.jpeg\" "\\"People")
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People gather in protest of child sexual abuse in the church outside of Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, on June 22, 2024.<\/p>\n
Chris Torres<\/p>\n
ctorres@star-telegram.com<\/p>\n
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against Gateway Church on Tuesday which accused the church\u2019s leaders of misappropriating tithes donated by former church members.<\/p>\n
Judge Amos Mazzant in the Eastern District of Texas ruled a First Amendment protection for churches, the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine, applied to Gateway. The ruling resulted in dismissal of the plaintiffs\u2019 fraud, contract and RICO claims.<\/p>\n
According to the lawsuit filed in October 2024 against the church and founding pastor Robert Morris<\/a>, former members of the Southlake-based megachurch alleged that the leaders engaged in misrepresentation and fraud in efforts to get them to donate money to Gateway and may not have dedicated to international missionary work the portion of the congregational tithe the leaders had promised.<\/p>\n The plaintiffs alleged that the 15% of donations promised to go to global missions and Jewish ministry partners may have been \u201crebuffed\u201d by Gateway elders, the Star-Telegram previously reported.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are grateful that the United States District Court has dismissed all claims against Gateway. Plaintiffs sought to second-guess Gateway\u2019s beliefs and decisions on the fundamental religious question of tithing,\u201d attorney Ron Breaux, who represented Gateway, said in the release. \u201cThe First Amendment prohibits such an assault on Gateway\u2019s religious autonomy and freedom. The District Court rightly recognized that resolving the plaintiffs\u2019 claims would require the court to conduct an inquiry into matters that are essential to Gateway\u2019s central mission, and it properly dismissed the plaintiffs\u2019 claims.\u201d<\/p>\n Morris, the founding pastor, resigned in June 2024 amid allegations of sexual abuse. He pleaded guilty in October 2025<\/a> to five counts of lewd and indecent acts with a child related to abuse of Cindy Clemishire beginning when she was 12 years old in the 1980s.<\/p>\n Morris was released after serving six months in the Osage County Jail in Oklahoma and has since registered as a sex offender.<\/p>\n In a statement provided by his attorney, Morris said he was grateful for the court\u2019s consideration and dismissal of the tithing lawsuit case, CBS Texas reported.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to be absolutely clear that during my<\/a> 24 years as Senior Pastor of Gateway Church, tithe monies were faithfully and properly stewarded, and not one dollar was misdirected \u2013 not by me, and not by Gateway. Every gift entrusted to us was used to advance the mission God called us to, including our global missions work and our support of Jewish ministry partners, and directed toward the many other charitable purposes to which Gateway was committed,\u201d Morris said.<\/p>\n A defamation lawsuit filed by Clemishire and her father against Morris, Gateway and other current and former leaders of the church is still pending. Clemishire alleges that the defendants\u2019 defamed her after she spoke publicly about the abuse.<\/p>\n This story was originally published June 24, 2026 at 4:10 PM.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n