Gateway Church Moves Retirement Pay Dispute

Guest Commentary

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By Amber Ginter, Crosswalk.com

Over the last year, Gateway Church (Southlake, Texas) founder Robert Morris has been involved in a public court case regarding a multimillion-dollar retirement package he claims is owed to him and his wife, Debbie.

On Tuesday, May 12th, 2026, Morris' attorney Bill Mateja told The Christian Post, “The parties have reached an agreement on an appropriate arbitration forum to resolve their dispute and will now proceed in that forum and not in state court. Thus, the state court proceeding was dismissed.”

The dismissal of the lawsuit was filed on Friday, May 8th, in Tarrant County, less than two months after Morris was released from the Osage County Jail in Oklahoma after completing a 6-month sentence for sexually abusing Cindy Clemishire beginning in the 1980s.

Morris resigned as Gateway Church’s senior pastor when he was convicted of a crime in June of 2024. In May of 2025, however, “he filed the lawsuit and arbitration demand when the megachurch refused his financial demands.”

While Morris originally stated that he wanted to settle the dispute through Christian arbitration, Gateway Church’s lawyers argued that “the church did not have to resolve the dispute through the institute because it has new owners.”

According to the “allegation in court files that Gateway Church orally promised Morris, 64, $800,000 per year in retirement pay until he turned 70. After that, he would be paid $600,000 annually until his death. If he were to die before his wife, Debbie, those payments would be made to her until she, too, passed.”

As of May 13th, the legal dispute has not been settled, but has been dismissed from state court and moved to arbitration.

Gateway Church Founder Released from Oklahoma Jail

Amber Ginter is a teacher-turned-author who loves Jesus, her husband Ben, and granola. Growing up Amber looked for faith and mental health resources and found none. Today, she offers hope for young Christians struggling with mental illness that goes beyond simply reading your Bible and praying more. Because you can love Jesus and still suffer from anxiety. You can download her top faith and mental health resources for free to help navigate books, podcasts, videos, and influencers from a faith lens perspective. Visit her website at amberginter.com.