Coloma MI -- (SBWire) -- 08/03/2012 --As the Olympic games are in full swing, one sure thing that can make anyone a “loser”, is gossip. On 8-8-08 during the previous summer Olympic games, Kevin Hester, Pastor of The Sanctuary Church in Watervliet Michigan, challenged people around the world to go Gossip Free and issued the 8 day Gossip Free Challenge. Hester challenged people to refrain from speaking and even from listening to gossip. People all over the United States and even some around the world slipped on a white gossip free bracelet and took the challenge. Kevin is, once again, issuing this challenge on 8-8-12 during the current Olympic games with a special focus on gossip in social networking, texting, and tweeting. Technology has provided a means of communicating that can reach masses of people all over the world with one seemingly innocent click of a send button. The Olympic games have seen athletes banned from participation and reputations tarnished because of gossip in the social media. Once gossip is spread, a trail of destruction follows and with the social media, that trail can be endlessly broad and long. Clearly this kind of gossip must not be swept under the rug or trivialized.

This year Kevin is asking everyone to PAUSE before texting, tweeting, posting, or typing. Stop and ask yourself if the information you are about to share is Private, Attacking, Untruthful, Sensitive, or Exaggerated. If it is, don't share it! We know that every Olympic athlete must spend time training their bodies if they truly want to win. If we are going to go totally gossip free it may be even more difficult than becoming the G.O.A. T. (Greatest Olympian of All Time), and we will have to spend some time and energy retraining our tongues. The prize in sight is greater than any gold medal we could strive for. It is the preservation of the dignity of our fellow man kind and a greater sense of peace and safety for all.

For more information about the 2012 Gossip Free Challenge, contact:

Kevin Hester

hesterkev@yahoo.com

269-468-6399

http://www.gossipfree.net

http://www.gotothesanctuary.org