Give it up

Christian Century, March 25, 2008

GIVE IT UP: In July 2006 Will Bowen, pastor of Christ Church Unity in Kansas City, Missouri, challenged his congregation to give up complaining for 21 days and instead focus on the way things should be. To help reinforce the message, he distributed purple silicon bracelets with the word Spirit. The length of the exercise, according to Bowen, was deliberate--it takes three weeks to break a habit.

His campaign has caught on: by now he's sent over 5 million bracelets to 80 different countries, written a book on the topic, appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show and formed a nonprofit group called A Complaint Free World (Christian Science Monitor, February 19).