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Join us in Twitterville where we pray in Twurch


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POSTED: Saturday, May 09, 2009

Twitter is one of the hottest social-media inventions to come along in an age when the Internet evolves at or near the speed of light and tomorrow's news is already old.

It created a community that talks to each other in short bursts of text messages called “;tweets.”; It has generated a Twitter Church—“;Twurch”;—movement where we share prayers and bare our souls.

The community is referred to as Twitterville. Here's how it works. You join for free, and then you find people to follow. Some of them follow you back, and the conversation starts. You ask and answer the simple question “;What are you doing?”; It can be as simple as “;I'm giving the dog a bath”; or as complex as “;We're praying for my sister who has cancer.”; Pretty soon you are talking with lots of people.

You look up and realize you are now a Tweepster in Twitterville. Yes, the “;tw”; sound is key to the insider language. For example, I tweet regularly, don't twink and twive! Al Roker delivers the “;tweather”; on Twitter.

Whatever you are doing, no matter how mundane, people tweet about it in 140 characters or less. That is how Twurch, like many other movements, started on Twitter.

A great example is Hetty4Christ. She is one amazing lady who lives in Arizona and is totally on fire for Jesus, even though she lives with seizures and brain surgeries. Pam Chun is a local person who is also on Twitter as a Christian. It is a place where we share, care and bare our souls. The Christian community is worldwide, just as are many other groups on Twitter every day.

The local Twurch community thrives, and we regularly have Tweet-ups, get-togethers where we actually meet in person and tweet about it at the same time, including pictures and video.

We have “;Twurch”; every day on Twitter. Do you need prayer? Are you lonely? Do you want to find like-minded people? You can use any type of device that connects to the Internet, whether cell phone, PDA or computer. If you are looking for me, I am of course @DonEads on Twitter. I am looking forward to tweeting with you soon. Remember, don't twink and twive!

 

The Rev. Don Eads is senior pastor of Aloha Christian Fellowship.