06/04/2026
This is a statement our church leadership team released to our congregation that we are making public for the edification of all in our community, regarding a Lumbee Tribal vote on “establishing a gambling enterprise as a means to fund tribal needs.”
Preliminary comments to the congregation
Our leadership team met recently to consider whether it was pastorally responsible for us to address the church regarding a vote on “establishing a gambling enterprise as a means to fund tribal needs”. We felt led to provide biblical guidance on this matter rather than leaving you without direction. While we do not formally address every civic issue, we feel compelled to offer a pastoral, non-political perspective on this decision.
Before I read that statement, let me offer two thoughts to lay a foundation for us.
• Keep an Eternal Perspective
This vote is not the most important thing going on in the world. We will all soon stand before our God, face to face… and we are to live today in light of that day. So, our most urgent priority remains sharing the gospel with the lost, and faithfully living lives that give witness to the treasure that HE is.
• Let’s Persist in Our Unwavering Unity
We have been blessed to have experienced 14 years of deep unity, a yes or no vote will not change that. Scripture anticipates disagreements, that’s to be expected, but the cross of Christ's and his soon return bind us together. In fact, the way we handle differing opinions is to reflect our love for one another, not divide us.
With these thoughts in mind, here is our official statement:
To CrossWay
The upcoming Lumbee tribal vote concerning a casino has generated significant discussion throughout our community. We wanted to share why we believe it would be biblically unwise to support the establishment of a casino.
It’s expected that tribes like ours would pursue a casino as the quickest path and best return for economic gain. But what if we purposed to choose a different path? What if, instead of trusting in gambling as our refuge, we did as the psalmists and put our trust in God to provide honorable and righteous opportunities for us (Ps 20:7 some trust in chariots, some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God). Fundamentally, we believe God is able — and faithful — to provide for His people through righteous means.
We do not question the sincerity or motives of those who support a casino. It is easy to understand the desire for economic opportunity, tribal advancement, and greater financial security, as well as other aid for families and future generations. Those desires are not wrong in themselves. Yet as followers of Christ, we must ask a deeper question: What should we do when something that appears financially beneficial conflicts with the way God has called us to trust Him, love our neighbor, and glorify His name?
Matters of conscience are real and powerful. But conscience must be shaped and informed by the principles of God’s Word if one is to rightly discern good from evil.
In one sense, the Bible says nothing directly about casinos or modern gambling systems. Yet in another sense, the Bible speaks loudly about how considering a casino should be processed. So, what way of thinking and what way of living should guide our conscience as we consider a vote on a casino? Scripture teaches:
“Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). (That’s not just a nice verse to say… It’s calling us to spend our lives making Jesus look glorious to a dying world and calling others to do the same. Is a casino going to do that?)
And again:
“Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Colossians 3:17).
What is going to capture our hearts… is what’s at the heart of this matter. In the words of Jesus:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength… and love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:30–31).
In the words of Paul: Romans 13:9 For the commandments… are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.
A casino economy functions by encouraging people to risk money in hopes of gain within a system mathematically designed for most participants to lose over time. It is also well documented that a substantial percentage of gambling revenue comes from individuals struggling with addictive or compulsive behaviors. The financial, emotional, psychological, spiritual, and social consequences connected to gambling are difficult to ignore.
That leads us to several difficult but necessary questions:
⁃ Have we truly loved our neighbor if we knowingly profit from the designed losses of others? Have we truly loved if we actively lure as many people as possible with slick, powerful advertising to gamble away the very resources God has provided?
⁃ Have we honored the name of Christ if tribal advancement comes through the exploitation of human weakness, temptation, misplaced hope, or destructive habits?
⁃ What message will we communicate to the next generation about stewardship, contentment, honorable labor, and trusting the God who has promised to supply our needs?
To say it plainly: Faithful Christians may differ on matters of conscience regarding personal gambling itself. But this vote is not about your private participation. It is about whether we should intentionally establish and promote a system that may be harmful to the well-being of others for our own benefit. It seems that we are using a predatory system to exploit our neighbor, and does not reflect the kind of love Christ commands us to show.
Philippians 2:4 says: “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
How do we do this? Philippians points us to Christ Himself as our example — the One who “emptied Himself” for the good of others. Jesus did not take advantage of people in their weakness; He laid down His life to give life. How then can we stumble those for whom Christ has died?
Finally, we should not take lightly the sober warnings God gives concerning the stumbling of others. Jesus said in Luke 17:1–2:
“Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.”
And Galatians 6:7–9 reminds us that how we sow matters:
“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
This is a defining moment for generations to come. Our prayer is that the Lumbee tribe would seek wisdom beyond immediate profit, and that we would pursue forms of growth and prosperity that honor both God and neighbor.
Please continue praying for wisdom, unity, and grace within our church and throughout the Lumbee community.
The Elders of CrossWay of Pembroke Church
