A major resignation has shaken a Texas megachurch as a fourth pastor has stepped down amid an ongoing ‘moral issue’.
Gateway Church in North Texas announced on Wednesday that Executive Pastor Kemtal Glasgow is “no longer employed” due to undisclosed “moral issues” that church elders deemed incompatible with his position.
Church elder Tra Willbanks addressed the congregation in a YouTube video, stating, “As of Monday this week, Kemtal Glasgow is no longer employed at Gateway.” Willbanks further explained, “We were informed last week of a moral issue which we believe as Elders disqualifies him from serving in the role that he had at Gateway.”
This latest departure follows a series of scandals that have rocked the church, beginning with its founder, Robert Morris, who admitted in June to sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl in the 1980s.
Following Morris’s confession, his son James and wife Bridgette resigned from their roles at the church in July.
Despite the timing, the church has maintained that Glasgow’s exit is unrelated to the Morris scandal, as reported by NBCDFW.
The church expressed support for Glasgow’s family, with Willbanks stating, “We love his family – we love his wife and his kids and we want to come alongside them during this difficult time and help them find restoration and healing that they need as a family.”
Willbanks also called on the congregation to offer their prayers for the Glasgow family during this challenging period. “And we would ask that you as a church would pray for them as well,” he urged.
Glasgow’s profile has already been removed from the church’s website, and in the wake of his departure, the church has announced plans to restructure its leadership.
Adena Wilson has been promoted to oversee the campus pastors, with her new role effective immediately.
“What this does do is it makes a way for us now to promote Adena Wilson into overseeing the campus pastors so Adena, effective yesterday, stepped into that role,” Willbanks said. He expressed confidence in Wilson’s promotion, stating, “We’re excited for Adena. Adena is going to be a perfect person to take on this responsibility, and she’s going to do terrific.”
The turmoil within the church began when Morris confessed to historical “inappropriate sexual behavior” with a minor.
The victim, now 54-year-old Cindy Clemishire, alleged that Morris initiated sexual contact with her on Christmas night in 1982 when she was just 12 years old. At the time, Morris was reportedly 21 and married.
The alleged abuse continued until 1987, with Clemishire recalling a disturbing scene where Morris asked her to join him in his room, instructed her to lay on his bed, and then began touching her inappropriately.
She claimed that after the abuse, Morris warned her to remain silent, saying, “told me I could never tell anyone because it would ruin everything.” The abuse reportedly continued for the next four-and-a-half years before Clemishire spoke out.
Initially, church elders cited an “inappropriate relationship” before later apologizing for their lack of complete information.
In response to the scandal, three church elders voluntarily stepped down, and an independent investigation was launched.
Morris’s son James and his wife Bridgette also resigned from their positions at the church amid the fallout.
The Haynes and Boone law firm was brought in to conduct an “independent and comprehensive inquiry” into Clemishire’s abuse allegations.
“Even though it occurred many years before Gateway was established, as leaders of the church, we regret that we did not have the information that we now have,” the church said in a statement. “We know many have been affected by this, we understand that you are hurting, and we are very sorry.”
Clemishire went public with her allegations in a June blog post on The Wartburg Watch, a website dedicated to exposing church abuse.
Emails shared with NBC News reportedly reveal the interactions between Morris and Clemishire in 2005, with Clemishire writing, “Twenty-three years after you began destroying my life, I am still dealing with the pain and damage you caused… I want some type of restitution. Pray about it and call me.”
