I first shared this discovery last night on Twitter. Yes, I still call it Twitter. I am grateful for sources of information that help shine the light of truth.
It is important to highlight the contradictions we have heard about the beginning of Robert Morris’ ministry career, as well as the time period after Robert was found to have abused Cindy. We discovered a newspaper article from April 25, 1982 that documents Robert Morris’ early career affiliation with televangelist James Robison, founder of LIFE Today tv ministry. The story discusses Robert being active in church growing up and being in the drug scene selling drugs in the church parking lot in between services at age 19. Robert says that he became a Christian at age 19, in February 1981. The news story from April 25, 1982 says that Robert was asked to join the James Robison Evangelistic Association as an associate evangelist in December 1981. Cindy states that Robert began abusing her on December 25, 1982.
The article says that “Rick Stanley, Elvis’ stepbrother said that Morris was ‘probably the next James Robison or Billy Graham.’”
Other news postings from 1988 show that Robert Morris was working as a traveling evangelist with the James Robison ministries. This was during the period of time that he was alleged to have been out of the ministry for a period of “restoration” after his abuse of Cindy had come to light in March 1987. Gateway Church elders’ statement last week quoted Robert Morris saying that he had been away from ministry from 1987-89. In one of Robert’s books, however, he wrote that the time away had actually only been one month. The Gateway Church statement says that the 2 year restoration process was “closely administered” by the elders at Shady Grove Church which became the Gateway Church Grand Prairie campus in 2013. Gateway Church history has been removed from the church website, but you can view it here. In my opinion, the elders at Shady Grove and then pastor Olen Griffing need to be held accountable for their actions in covering for and enabling Robert Morris’ deception over the last 3 decades, as well as any of the elders/staff at Gateway Church who knew. Abused kids aren’t a “data point.”
James Robison and LIFE Today made a statement that Robert Morris joined the Robison Evangelistic Association in the late 1980s. The news article we found states that Robert Morris joined the Robison team in December 1981 as an associate evangelist.
