Changes in Lawsuit Against Gateway Church as Former Pastor is Removed
In a recent development in the class action lawsuit involving Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, plaintiffs have decided to drop former Executive Global Pastor Kevin Grove from the list of defendants. This change is part of an ongoing legal battle addressing the church’s handling of tithes and the alleged failure to uphold a money-back guarantee.
The lawsuit, initiated in October 2024 by church members Katherine Leach, Garry K. Leach, Mark Browder, and Terri Browder, initially included Gateway Church founder Robert Morris, former Executive Pastor Tom Lane, founding elder Steve Dulin, and Grove as defendants. Grove was also a trustee of The King’s University.
A motion filed on February 26, requested the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas to dismiss the case against Grove without prejudice. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant approved this motion, effectively dismissing all pending claims against Grove.
The central issue of the lawsuit revolves around accusations that Gateway Church was not transparent with its finances while they generated over $100 million annually in previous years. Grove’s legal team moved to dismiss the claims against him in December 2024, citing a lack of jurisdiction by the court.
“The Court lacks jurisdiction over Plaintiffs’ claims as the Complaint does not assert any federal claims, and Plaintiffs’ attempt to invoke jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act does not meet the necessary prerequisites set forth by the Act,” stated Grove’s attorneys Michael D. Williams and Charles M. Kibler, Jr., of the law firm Brown Sims, P.C. They argued that the claims were vague and based on promises not made by Grove, suggesting that the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine precluded the court’s involvement.
Defendants in the case shared similar objections. However, church members counter-argued that the First Amendment’s ecclesiastical abstention doctrine does not preclude claims against the church, as these are not related to theological issues but rather to alleged misrepresentations in soliciting tithing funds.
“The ecclesiastical abstention doctrine does not shield church pastors and leaders from committing fraud and other torts,” the plaintiffs noted, emphasizing that their claims relate to civil issues rather than theological doctrine.
Although church members acknowledged no direct contract with Lane or Grove, they intend to pursue fraud and conspiracy claims against Gateway Church and Robert Morris, alongside their other claims.
Robert Morris, who founded Gateway Church in 2000, resigned in June 2024 following allegations of child sexual abuse during the 1980s. On Wednesday, Morris was indicted on multiple counts related to these allegations by a grand jury in Oklahoma.
Morris had previously promoted a money-back guarantee on tithes during a 2022 sermon, asserting that giving the first 10% of income to the church could be life-changing. He stated, as seen in a YouTube clip, “When I started giving the first 10% to God, it changed everything. And here’s what I’d like to do. I’d like to just challenge you. I’ve done this with our church. I’ve told our church on multiple occasions, I’ve said to them, if you’ll try it for one year, if you are not fully satisfied, at the end of that year, I’ll give you your money back.”
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This article was originally written by www.christianpost.com
