The March 10 edition of Newsweek featured an article about a Chicgo firm that banned gossip. Sam Chapman, CEO of Empower Public Relations, credits the policy with doubling the company's buisness. According to Chapman, the policy has helped employees focus on work and communicate better with one another.

Here's how it works. First, all the employees agree to abide by the policy, no exceptions allowed. Second, "When an employee says something negative behind a co-worker's back, he or she will be required to repeat that gossip to the person's face."

As you can imagine, most employees police themselves better, reducing the amount of casual gossip. Perhaps more importantly, the policy results in people talking to one another rather than about one another. Truth trumps rumor in such an environment, people get to know one another better, trust and respect grow, team develops.

The Apostle Paul would not be surprised. He urged Christians to abandon gossip and instead deal directly with one another. Paul believed his approach strengthened community and witness. He was right.

The habit of gossip is hard to break. Passing along a bit of gossip (or creating it out of nothing but our own imagination) may make us feel powerful or "in the know." Gossip makes it possible for us to attack  others without the risk of direct encounter. It always fosters a sense of "us against them," in the process birthing a distorted kind of community. Gossip debases us, both when we do it and when we suffer from it. For all these reasons and more, scripture labels gossip as sin.

Try imiplementing the gossip policy of Empower Public Relations in your own life. Give it a trial run, say for three months. Speak no work of gossip. If you slip up and do so, go to the person you gossiped about and tell them what you have said. My strong hunch is that any of us who take the challenge will find ourselves caught up in a genuine spiritual struggle. The payoff is that we will become better persons, build the Christian community, and enhance our witness to one another and the world.