LOL....I Fucking Love IT!

[Minimalist]

https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/29/us/gatewa...index.html

[color=var(--theme-headline__text-color)]Texas megachurch faces exodus of worshippers after a sex abuse scandal set off a summer of turmoil[/color]

[quote][color=var(--style-type-primary-1-highest)]Summer was off to a tumultuous start when allegations of child sexual abuse surfaced on a blog dedicated to Christian survivor stories. This time, the man involved had gone on to lead one of America’s largest megachurches.[/color]
[color=var(--style-type-primary-1-highest)]Robert Morris, who founded and led Gateway Church for nearly 25 years in the affluent Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Southlake, Texas, resigned after the scandal came to light in June. His exit sent thousands of evangelicals into a season of struggle that has lasted months.[/color]
[color=var(--style-type-primary-1-highest)]Last week, a pastor who oversaw all of Gateway’s campuses departed amid an undisclosed “moral issue,” becoming the latest in a series of changes for the church: The cancellation of its annual conference. The departure of Morris’ successor. The renaming of its Houston campus and an exodus of worshippers.[/color]
[color=var(--style-type-primary-1-highest)]At each weekend service, worshippers continue to face reminders of the scandal, with interim or guest pastors kicking off their sermons saying “I’m sorry,” talking about grief or finding hope in difficult times. They’ve noticed people who have sat and prayed around them for years are once again not showing up for service.[/color]
[color=var(--style-type-primary-1-highest)]The church has seen a decrease of 17% to 19% in weekend services attendance, a church spokesperson told CNN.[/color]
[color=var(--style-type-primary-1-highest)]The turnover at the church could have far-reaching effects. Gateway Church draws an estimated 100,000 people to its weekend services and has more than 560 employees at nine locations in Texas, and two others in Missouri and Wyoming, according to the church.[/color]/quote]


100,000 assholes listening to some pervert preacher every week!  They're as bad as the fucking catholicks!

[Cavebear]

[quote="Minimalist" pid='436820' dateline='1724958522']
https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/29/us/gatewa...index.html


[quote][color=var(--theme-headline__text-color)]Texas megachurch faces exodus of worshippers after a sex abuse scandal set off a summer of turmoil[/color][/quote]


[quote][color=var(--style-type-primary-1-highest)]Summer was off to a tumultuous start when allegations of child sexual abuse surfaced on a blog dedicated to Christian survivor stories. This time, the man involved had gone on to lead one of America’s largest megachurches.[/color]
[color=var(--style-type-primary-1-highest)]Robert Morris, who founded and led Gateway Church for nearly 25 years in the affluent Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Southlake, Texas, resigned after the scandal came to light in June. His exit sent thousands of evangelicals into a season of struggle that has lasted months.[/color]
[color=var(--style-type-primary-1-highest)]Last week, a pastor who oversaw all of Gateway’s campuses departed amid an undisclosed “moral issue,” becoming the latest in a series of changes for the church: The cancellation of its annual conference. The departure of Morris’ successor. The renaming of its Houston campus and an exodus of worshippers.[/color]
[color=var(--style-type-primary-1-highest)]At each weekend service, worshippers continue to face reminders of the scandal, with interim or guest pastors kicking off their sermons saying “I’m sorry,” talking about grief or finding hope in difficult times. They’ve noticed people who have sat and prayed around them for years are once again not showing up for service.[/color]
[color=var(--style-type-primary-1-highest)]The church has seen a decrease of 17% to 19% in weekend services attendance, a church spokesperson told CNN.[/color]
[color=var(--style-type-primary-1-highest)]The turnover at the church could have far-reaching effects. Gateway Church draws an estimated 100,000 people to its weekend services and has more than 560 employees at nine locations in Texas, and two others in Missouri and Wyoming, according to the church.[/color]/quote]


100,000 assholes listening to some pervert preacher every week!  They're as bad as the fucking catholicks!
[/quote]

I'm not seeing any of all those coded stylistic effects, just the codes.

[mordant]

I'm not seeing any of all those coded stylistic effects, just the codes.

Best to just go to the link.

Weirdly, in edit mode the text looks fine. I think that's a rich text editor that understands more stuff than can actually be displayed in the thread view.

[mordant]

I wonder how many preachers had "indiscretions" with "young ladies" back in the 20th century and did not count on these things being a problem. The Internet wasn't in play then. There wasn't a "church watchdog site" to worry about. This guy even spoke over the years about his moral failure, just not in much detail. No big deal, or so he thought.

It gives new meaning to the phrase, "fuck around and find out".

[pattylt]

Still not a drag queen.

I’m on a blog where whenever another pastor or priest gets charged with some version of sex crime or porn, it’s posted. The number of youth pastors charged is epidemic. It’s almost like pervs purposely become youth pastors to groom and abuse! Say it ain’t so!

And again, if it were Denny's employees being charged, there’d be no more Dennys. Hmmm…

[mordant]

Still not a drag queen.

I’m on a blog where whenever another pastor or priest gets charged with some version of sex crime or porn, it’s posted.  The number of youth pastors charged is epidemic.  It’s almost like pervs purposely become youth pastors to groom and abuse!  Say it ain’t so!

And again, if it were Denny's employees being charged, there’d be no more Dennys. Hmmm…

Youth pastors tend to be entry level jobs in many churches; they are often not that much older than the teens they are leading -- fresh out of college. It's a situation ripe for abuse, or as they probably like to put it, full of temptation.

[pattylt]

Still not a drag queen.

I’m on a blog where whenever another pastor or priest gets charged with some version of sex crime or porn, it’s posted.  The number of youth pastors charged is epidemic.  It’s almost like pervs purposely become youth pastors to groom and abuse!  Say it ain’t so!

And again, if it were Denny's employees being charged, there’d be no more Dennys. Hmmm…

Youth pastors tend to be entry level jobs in many churches; they are often not that much older than the teens they are leading -- fresh out of college. It's a situation ripe for abuse, or as they probably like to put it, full of temptation.

While I’m sure plenty are young, I’ve also seen quite a few in their late 30’s to 50’s.  And how many churches these days require college? Often the pastors don’t even have a degree.

[Fireball]

^ Youth pastor invites a young lady over for a little worship at the "Church of the Divine Inseminator", to cherry pick a name from a Heinlein novel.

[Cavebear]

I'm not seeing any of all those coded stylistic effects, just the codes.

Best to just go to the link.

Weirdly, in edit mode the text looks fine. I think that's a rich text editor that understands more stuff than can actually be displayed in the thread view.

There were many links. Which one did you mean?

[Minimalist]

I didn't even pay attention to that formatting issue when I posted it because it doesn't show up when cutting and pasting the quotes.  But it comes out in Green and then Blue color which did not appear in the original.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/29/us/gatewa...index.html

Texas megachurch faces exodus of worshippers after a sex abuse scandal set off a summer of turmoil

Summer was off to a tumultuous start when allegations of child sexual abuse surfaced on a blog dedicated to Christian survivor stories. This time, the man involved had gone on to lead one of America’s largest megachurches.

Robert Morris, who founded and led Gateway Church for nearly 25 years in the affluent Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Southlake, Texas, resigned after the scandal came to light in June. His exit sent thousands of evangelicals into a season of struggle that has lasted months.

There's a "remove formatting" setting in the tool bar which I used on the sample above...but one has to know that it  is doing it in order to go back and use it.

I'm getting too old for this shit.

[Reltzik]

I mean, let's be fair.  Conservative Christians have so very much on their plate, and it's understandable that a few things will slip past them among all the things they had to attend to.  Obviously they had to prioritize the fight against gay people grooming children in the sense of normalizing the existence of gay people over the fight against church leaders grooming children in the sense of molesting them.  Some things just matter more than others!

[AutisticWill]

Why were there 100s of 1000s of people listening to him at all?

[Minimalist]

Because it was Texass, Will.  Lots of morons in Texas.

[mordant]

Police: Columbia pastor accused of molesting child family member takes own life

https://fox17.com/news/local/affidavit-o...-wednesday

Shot himself in the restroom of an emergency room ... almost like he wanted to be saved? In the physical sense? He didn't make it though, so there's that.

[pattylt]

Police: Columbia pastor accused of molesting child family member takes own life

https://fox17.com/news/local/affidavit-o...-wednesday

Shot himself in the restroom of an emergency room ... almost like he wanted to be saved? In the physical sense? He didn't make it though, so there's that.

It saves the ambulance fee and court costs…what a win!

[Edible crust]

Police: Columbia pastor accused of molesting child family member takes own life

https://fox17.com/news/local/affidavit-o...-wednesday

Shot himself in the restroom of an emergency room ... almost like he wanted to be saved? In the physical sense? He didn't make it though, so there's that.

It saves the ambulance fee and court costs…what a win!

Probably cost a bit to clean up though... Dust pan and brush wouldn't be an option.

[pattylt]

ER bathrooms are usually set up to allow a complete hose down. Sick folks already bleed and puke all over them.

[DsRed19]

Confirms my belief that religion doesn’t change anybody.

[Inkubus]

Eh?

[mordant]

More sexual abuse has been uncovered at Gateway Church, the topic of the OP. The article linked below mentions a similar clusterfuck (ahem) at a Canadian megachurch. Media coverage, specifically a long-form investigative piece, caused insurers to refuse to cover the church for liability, and the whole thing closed down at the end of last month. One can only hope there's a similar fate for Gateway.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/9/...may-be-why

... back in June, Robert Morris, pastor of Gateway Church in Southlake—near Fort Worth—was cut down to size when a four-decade-old lie came to light. From 1982 to 1987, he groomed and molested a 12-year-old Oklahoma girl, but insisted it was only a “moral failure” with a “young lady.” In the face of criticism from all sides, Morris resigned.

Since fellow Kossack TheCriticalMind diaried about it here, we’ve learned this was merely the tip of the iceberg at Gateway. In July, CBS News reported that Gateway had settled two lawsuits. One claimed church officials covered up a youth pastor sexually assaulting a girl; another claimed a pastor sexually harassed and assaulted a former administrative assistant. Later in July, the head of Gateway’s prison ministry was exposed as a child sex offender—and Gateway was evasive at best about whether any members knew.