BTN News: Bob Hamp took to the blogging tools on Patheos to speak against Robert Morris in the wake of accusations surrounding his leadership at Gateway Church, Southlake (TX), and plans to keep showing up as part of a conversation within Christian domains where accountability for abuse needs more transparency.
Bob Hamp, who worked at Gateway Church from 2005 to 2014 and came up with the Freedom Ministry, said he was deeply troubled by the allegations surrounding Morris and a then-12-year-old girl. Notice how he pointed out that he did not know about these events as they happened long before he even joined the church.
Hamp says, “I’m devastated.” “Obviously the little 12-year-old girl in pink pajamas who I had to pick my jaw up off the ground about… it was just shattered my heart right from the beginning,” she said then.
Hamp, who now operates the Think Differently Academy centered on healing and spiritual enlightenment, details how she dealt with learning about her infidelity in conversations with ESSENCE. He outlined a disparity in the information he had been provided regarding Morris’ alleged transgressions since Oct. 2016 and what actually occurred and said it was critical to get to the bottom of such an issue to establish clarity and honesty.
Hamp said that church leadership as well as the congregation would have been made aware of Morris’ “past sin issue” which was related to an “inappropriate relationship with a young woman. He did, however, have no knowledge that the relationship in question was with a 12-year-old.
Robert Morris, meanwhile, dug itself a deeper hole with a statement that called the accuser “this young lady,” further drawing questions and criticism. Hamp spoke of the urgent and vital importance of language precision when it comes to discussing claims of abuse, cautioning against using terms that are so vague as to dull the seriousness of what has clearly taken place.
In the wake of these incidents, Hamp called for a more extensive dialogue on the topic of accountability and abuse prevention in Christian circles. He highlighted the importance of treating these issues with integrity and revealing it honestly, to avoid repetition of same in future.
Hamp said: “This doesn’t end with one Gateway Church case.” So it is about calling these issues out, so that we can hold them to account and in doing so safeguard all those who cannot simply walk away.
As the story of Robert Morris continues to develop, Hamp stands by her commitment to standing up for survivors and working towards reconciliation within the church. Their perspectives are a wakeup call to all the hard work and accountability that needs to continue in order for abuse in religious environments to be alleviated.
