All of us have habits. Some good; some bad. In The Patient Ferment of the Early Church, Alan Kreider calls habits our embodied behaviors—our reflexes. Habits are not strategies; they are responses. James Clear says diet is not a strategy; it’s about our habits of food placement. Put fruit in a bowl on the counter. Put ice cream in the back of the freezer…. of our neighbor’s refrigerator.
We often ask what makes something effective. Just because something works does not make it worthwhile. A person can lose weight by picking up smoking, or spend more time with their family by quitting their job. Those decisions achieve one outcome at the expense of another. Instead, effective means doing what is fruitful and faithful, with neither at the expense of the other.
White Station has been studying Paul’s Letter to the Romans for all of 2025. Here are seven habits that transformed the life of that church that can help us to be effective today.
Oppose Sin
This might seem strange. Who wants to join a church that speaks out against sin? The truth: most people. Many of the fastest-growing churches in the United States have statements of faith that take sin seriously. They are not morally flimsy. Some churches who are wishy-washy on sin are emptier than a record store in a mall.
Why is this? People need moral clarity in a time of confusion. They know the behavior of Jeffrey Epstein was heinous. They need a community who helps them make sense of chaos. Romans would say, “They became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened” (Rom. 1:21). The result is awful: “God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity…” (Rom. 1:24). People need clarity. An effective church offers it.
Show Grace
An effective church does not leave people where they are. It shows grace. Paul’s dark claims are followed by hopeful exclamations: “The wages of sin is death… [but] the free gift of God is eternal life.” “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). People need to know they belong even when their behavior does not. We all need a reminder that Jesus’s best outweighs our worst.
Confess Struggles
How can a church oppose sin and show grace? Testimony. For centuries people have sung, “I once was lost but now am found.” More recently we give 15-second testimonies: “There was a time in my life when I was insecure. Then I met Jesus and found new strength. Now I am hopeful because I have a reason to get out of bed. Do you have a story like that?” These simple testimonies let people hear our hurts, hangups, and hopes. John Ortberg says, “We sin alone, but we heal together.” An effective church will be a confessional one.
Follow the Holy Spirit
An effective church has a habit of following the Holy Spirit. Many churches fear the work of the Spirit because they think it’s about faith healings, speaking in tongues, and handling snakes. In Acts the Spirit is less about miracles and more about mission. Less about handling snakes, more about handling conflict—like Acts 15: “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us.”
The fastest-growing Christian movements in the world are Charismatic. These churches pray like God might answer. They listen for a word from God about major decisions. They make choices based on opportunities, not the handcuffs of the past. Paul writes, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you… he will give life to your mortal bodies,” (Rom. 8:11). Going through life without the Spirit is like going on vacation without a phone charger. It starts as anxiety, then leads to frustration, and ultimately becomes death.
Honor the Gifts of Men and Women
Churches need to talk about gender. Men are struggling. We are more likely to drop out of high school, go to jail, and commit suicide. Yet men are also responsible for many injustices in the world—often against women. And women have opposition as well: they are higher victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and marginalization in church life. Elevating men can appear to ignore women; helping women can appear to be at the expense of men. We need to honor women and men.
Paul models partnership in Romans 16: Phoebe, Priscilla, Junia—Deacon, Missionary, Apostle. A church needs the gifts of both men and women. We cannot reach all the world with half the church.
Celebrate Many Cultures
Being multicultural is at the heart of the Gospel: “The power of God for all people, first the Jew and then the Gentile” (Rom. 1:16). The Roman church was intentionally multicultural in a world built for division. Anyone can make two churches out of two groups. Paul teaches Rome how to be two cultures in one church.
An effective church today celebrates many cultures. Michael Emerson notes that in racially homogenous congregations, 83% of people say their friends look like them; in multicultural congregations it is 36%. Putting ourselves in multicultural contexts leads to multicultural friendships. As America becomes increasingly urban and multicultural, the church must lead.
Adapt
A theme of Romans: nobody gets to remain the same. Paul says in Romans 12:2 that transformation is what it means to follow Jesus. In 8:29 he says we are being conformed to the image of his Son. Everyone in an effective church recognizes the need to adapt. Tod Bolsinger reminds us that what got us here will not take us where we need to go. We never surrender our truths to culture, but we always change our methods for reaching it. A dying church refuses to adapt. An effective church always will.
These are the habits that can shape a flourishing church. God has done many great things through people and churches with awful habits. Imagine what he can do through some good ones.
