Gateway Church Executive Pastor Kemtal Glasgow Fired for Undisclosed ‘Moral Issue’
- Milton Quintanilla Crosswalk Headlines Contributor
- Updated Aug 28, 2024
The Texas-based megachurch Gateway Church announced Wednesday that its executive pastor, Kemtal Glasgow, has been terminated due to a "moral issue."
"As of Monday this week, Kemtal Glasgow is no longer employed at Gateway. 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," Tra Willbanks, a longtime Gateway Church elder, said in a video announcement on YouTube.
"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," he added. "We would ask that you, as a church, would pray for them as well."
Willbanks added that Adana Wilson, the campus pastor of Gateway Church Frisco, will take over Glasgow's role.
When asked to clarify Glasgow's "moral issue," Lawrence Swicegood, Gateway Church's executive director, asserted that it has "nothing to do with the departure of Robert Morris nor related to those circumstances."
"At Gateway, it's our deepest desire for every staff member to lead a life of integrity, both in their personal and professional lives. It recently came to light that Kemtal Glasgow had a moral failure, so we've asked him to step down as a pastor at Gateway and devote time to his marriage and family," Swicegood told The Christian Post on Thursday.
"Although his employment is ending, we are devoted to still caring for Kemtal and his family. To be clear, this decision regarding Kemtal had nothing to with the departure of Robert Morris nor related to those circumstances," he added. "We are praying for God's grace and love to be with Kemtal and his family during this time."
On June 18, Morris, who founded Gateway Church, resigned as the church's senior pastor after 54-year-old Cindy Clemishire alleged that he began sexually abusing her in the 1980s when she was just 12 years old.
Following Morris's resignation, Gateway Church has undertaken an independent investigation into the allegations made against him.
Additionally, other Gateway church leaders have left the church after Morris was fired, including founding elder Steve Dulin, who is alleged to have been fired due to financial abuse and bullying. Morris' son, James Morris, and his wife, Bridgette, stepped down last month, just weeks after he took his father's place as lead pastor after the allegations against him surfaced.
Gateway elders said they sought the "advice of many well-respected pastors and ministry leaders" regarding the decision to sever ties with Morris, believing they would serve as senior church leaders in the future.
"We as elders affirm and believe that God has placed a desire in both Pastors James and Bridgette's hearts to serve as senior pastors of a church at some point in the future," the elders said in their statement. "We love Pastors James and Bridgette and their children. We deeply care about them and sincerely thank them for investing their lives here at Gateway Church. They have faithfully and honorably served our congregation and this community through all the years that they have been part of Gateway Church."
WATCH: Elder Update from Tra Willbanks | August 21, 2024 | Gateway Church
Photo Credit: ©YouTube/CBS Texas
