4 Gateway Church elders take leave amid investigation into allegations involving Pastor Robert Morris

NORTH TEXAS — Four members of the Gateway Church Board of Elders are taking temporary leaves of absence as an outside legal team investigates the sexual abuse of a child accusations against Pastor Robert Morris.

The decision was announced in a "Statement to the Congregation" on the church website Friday.

Morris' account of his past is now in question. Church elders say Morris disclosed he had an extramarital affair, not that he had abused a 12-year-old.

An outside law firm, Haynes and Boone, is conducting the investigation.

"As Haynes and Boone begins their work, they have recommended that any Gateway Church Elder with a potential conflict of interest take a temporary leave of absence from the Board of Elders," the announcement said.

That includes elders with a "relational conflict" and those on the board between 2005 and 2007.

"A leave of absence in no way whatsoever assumes or implies that any elder had any knowledge of the true facts related to this situation," the announcement said.

Three of the elders taking leaves of absence weren't on Gateway Church staff in 2005, but they were on the board between 2005 and 2007.

"These three Elders — Kevin Grove, Steve Dulin, and Gayland Lawshe — are men of integrity who have served Gateway Church with distinction, and each of these three Elders has clearly stated that they had no knowledge of the true facts of this situation," the statement said.

The law firm investigating the allegations also recommended Pastor James Morris also take a temporary leave of absence from the Gateway Board of Elders. He was not an elder between 2005 and 2007.

"Pastor James Morris is a man of integrity, and he has clearly stated that he had no knowledge of the true facts of this situation," the statement said. "However, because Pastor James Morris is related to Robert Morris, Haynes and Boone has recommended that Pastor James also take a temporary leave of absence from the Board of Elders and Pastor James has volunteered to do so to demonstrate his commitment to a truly independent and unbiased inquiry."