Mercy Culture pastor says God has forgiven Gateway founder Robert Morris
.JPG "Gateway Church founder Robert Morris enters the Osage County Courthouse in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, accompanied by his wife, Debbie Morris, and his attorney, Mack Martin, on Friday, May 9, 2025.")
The pastor of Mercy Culture Church said he told Gateway Church founder and convicted child sex offender Robert Morris that God has forgiven him.
Landon Schott said in a Facebook post Feb. 3 that he visited Morris at the Osage County Jail in Oklahoma.
“Today I had the honor of sitting with Pastor Robert. I am grateful for the role he played in my life. I am grateful for what I learned. And I am grateful that the story of grace is still being written,” Schott wrote.
Morris is serving six months in jail after he pleaded guilty in October to charges of indecent conduct with a child in connection with the sexual abuse case that led to his resignation from the North Texas megachurch.
Morris, who founded Gateway in Southlake in 2000, was convicted on five counts of lewd and indecent conduct with a child and was sentenced to 10 years with all but six months suspended. After his release from jail, Morris will serve the remainder of the sentence on probation in Texas. He must also register as a sex offender.
Morris resigned from the church in June 2024 after he admitted to sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl in the 1980s. He was indicted in March 2025.
Schott did not respond to messages seeking comment before this story published Feb. 5. On Feb. 10, the church sent the Star-Telegram this statement from him:
“When I first heard the presented details about Pastor Robert’s past, my honest reaction was anger and disappointment. That was raw. But I don’t get to lead from my emotions. I lead from obedience to God’s Word, the Bible. I chose to follow Jesus. Seven years ago, when we launched Mercy Culture, we made forgiveness a core value and a leadership standard. You are never more like Jesus than when you forgive. The moment you stop forgiving, you stop spiritually growing. Mercy means undeserved kindness. If someone deserves it, it’s not mercy. Either you believe the mercy and grace of God are for everyone, or they’re for no one. In John 8, self righteous religious leaders wanted Jesus to condemn and kill a woman caught in sin. Jesus refused. He responded where grace kisses truth. He met her with mercy and grace, spoke truth, and told her to go and sin no more. I don’t excuse sin. I don’t minimize wrongdoing. But mercy is the hill I will die on, because it’s the hill Jesus died on.”
‘I am disappointed, but I still love Jesus’
Cindy Clemishire, who came forward in 2024 and accused Morris of sexually abusing her over four years, said she was disappointed when she read Schott’s Facebook post. She said Morris told her not to tell anyone and that he and others from Gateway covered up the abuse for years.
“I just don’t understand why he would even make a public announcement,” she said. “It just seems self-serving. I know we are called to forgive, to restore and all of that, but I just don’t see the fruit of it.”
Clemishire added that pastors should not be put on pedestals and that too often, the victims are ignored.
When she came forward with her accusations against Morris, the only megachurch pastor who supported her was Rick Warren, the founder of Saddleback Church in California, she said.
“We know what the scripture says, if anyone harms any of my little ones, it’s better to have a millstone around their neck and thrown in to the sea,” Clemishire said, referring to a verse from the Bible, Matthew 18:6.
“I am disappointed, but I still love Jesus,” she said.
After Morris pleaded guilty in October, Clemishire read her victim statement in court.
“Today justice has finally been served, and the man who manipulated, groomed and abused me as a 12-year-old innocent girl is finally going to be behind bars,” Clemishire said. “I hope that people understand the only way to stop child sexual abuse is to speak up when it happens or is suspected.”
Meanwhile, Schott wrote that Morris mentored him before he started Mercy Culture Church in Fort Worth, and that he spent a year as an intern at Gateway.
He added that Morris will be released from jail in early April, the week of Easter and Passover.
“Even in this situation, the gospel is being preached,” Schott wrote. “Atonement. Forgiveness. Resurrection. New beginnings.
“Sin is serious. It grieves the heart of God. But the cross is more serious. The blood of Jesus is stronger than failure. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
“I do not believe we can preach mercy at our altars if that same mercy is not available to those who once stood behind them.”
This story was originally published February 5, 2026 at 5:06 PM.