Robert Morris' son-in-law reveals ‘nightmare week’ for family amid abuse scandal
Ethan Fisher, senior pastor of Gateway Church Houston, who is also the son-in-law of Gateway Church founder Robert Morris, revealed Sunday that his family faced a "nightmare week" following the revelation of allegations from 54-year-old Cindy Clemishire that Morris sexually abused her for four-and-a-half years in the 1980s beginning when she was 12.
"As people have asked us, 'Hey how are you doing?' I just tell them, 'Well, it's been a nightmare week,' what we've had to process and what we've had to go through. But we know that we will get the help," said Fisher, the husband of Morris' daughter, Elaine, who serves as Gateway Church Houston's leadership pastor.
"And truth be told, I just simply want to say thank you to every person who has reached out to us. I know that you have been praying for us, praying for the church, praying for us individually, as a family, and I want to say we appreciate it," he added. "That's really what's truly carried us during this past week. For us, and many of us, this is unprecedented, and we appreciate the love; we appreciate the support, and we appreciate the way that you cared for us."
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Morris resigned from Gateway Church on June 18 after Clemishire reported that the megachurch pastor began sexually abusing her on Dec. 25, 1982, and continued with the abuse for four-and-a-half years after that.
Without naming Clemishire, Morris admitted to CP in an earlier statement that he had engaged in "inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady" while he was a pastor in his early 20s.
Elders at Gateway Church initially told CP that Morris was transparent about his past and believed he had been biblically restored to ministry. However, after Clemishire's report was made public, they said Morris did not tell them the "young lady" was 12 years old at the time.
Fisher said he was left at "a loss for words" after the news broke.
"This past week, we have been obviously grieved and shocked over the child sexual abuse allegations that have been brought to light regarding Robert Morris," he told his congregation, which he said is not a campus of Gateway Church but an independent, autonomous operation. "For years, he has shared about a moral failure early on in his marriage. But prior to this past week, the leadership, including myself and even Elaine, for the leadership here at Gateway Church Houston, did not have all the facts regarding the allegations."
After Morris resigned from Gateway Church, Fisher said he was also removed as the apostolic and overseeing elder of Gateway Church Houston.
"Elaine and I, we're processing it, obviously, as family. Elaine is a daughter, and I've done my best to be there for her. Me, as a son-in-law, we're processing the pain in real-time in the same way I know many of you are," Fisher told his congregants.
He said he and his wife had to have tough conversations with their 9-and-10-year-old daughters.
"We're having to navigate tough conversations with our children around this conversation and shedding tears as we process with them. Many of you know we have a daughter who's 10 and a daughter who's 9, and having to navigate the emotions and trying to do our best to care for them," he said.
"We've lived in this tension of loving a person while at the same time knowing there are consequences to actions. God is love, and He is also just. While forgiveness is available, there are also many times costs to our decisions," he said.
He said he and his wife have been getting counseling from "trusted people in wholeness that can only be found in God."
"Elaine and I are doing our best to pursue healing and turn to the Lord during this time," he said. "We want to be able to lead and love God and His people for a long time and we know that something like this can rock the faith of many and can also hinder the purity of our hearts."
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