Frank Viola | Beyond Evangelical

Official Blog of Author & Speaker Frank Viola. Digging below the surface and moving beyond the shallows in today's Christianity.

The “One Word Monologue” is Back & Win a Free Book

Hi Fun Seekers,

Today is another edition of fun Friday. And we are going to resurrect a previous innovation. It’s an exercise I created back in 2009 called The One Word Monologue.

Applause.

Whistling.

Summersaults.

Cartwheels.

Yes, girls and boys, today’s edition of Beyond Evangelical will feature our third . . . count them, 3rd . . . one word monologue.

Here’s how it works.

I give you a word. Then you comment on that word. Say whatever you wish about the word (so long as it comports with the Blog Manager’s rules, of course.)

Write a sentence, a phrase, a full paragraph, a mini-novel. Whatevah . . .

The word for today is . . .

TWITTER

That’s right . . .

TWITTER

Btw, if you happen to use Twitter, would you Tweet this post so we can get as many responses as possible? You can also click here to connect with me on Twitter.

Finally, the Blog Manager is going to select several people who comment today to receive a FREE copy of one of my books.

So let the responses begin . . .

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. Ah, if I had a less spoiled kittie (Heidi) that insists I play her little game of fetch, I could concentrate and win a book! Hopeful

  5. Twitter I have no clue why all these people who I don’t know want to follow me, not like I tweet a lot, but probably when I do they want to know?

  8. I like Twitter, I just can’t keep up with it. I feel like I’m missing so much stuff, but when I do go there, there’s always something good!

  13. Twitter is a teaser for much deeper thought. Twitter, when used properly, will reveal only the surface of a deep thought or intent and draws in the reader to examine further. While I do not follow many on Twitter, I do follow Frank Viola’s thread, just for this reason. If I am going to follow anyone on this earth, I am going to make certain it is someone who is #1 following Christ and #2 who is moving forward on the same path I am on and freely offers guidance to those behind them on the journey to avoid pitfalls and point out all the glory we might have missed otherwise.

  14. I appreciate the posts – I am in Twitter school today.

    Have not found Twitter to be what has been described by Frank and all here today – so will try again

    I use FB, a lot of it I find boring, but I have developed some great friendships and have small groups within FB that are supportive, life giving, deep, and real.

    thx all for opening my eyes to a new and greater Twitter that I want/need to discover

  15. There was a young man called Ritter
    Who opened an account on Twitter
    He turned as white as a sheet
    Because he didn’t know how to tweet
    And now he’s all angry and bitter

  18. Tweeter? A CT-scan or MRI or EEG of the cranium
    Humanity. A picture what is going on the mind of humanity at that point in time. All tweets taken together from its very beginning will give an accurate anatomy of the contemporary human mind/psyche.

  21. “Twitter”

    twitch,
    flick,
    infinitesimal shutter,
    nervous affliction,
    anticipation,
    perspiration,
    exasperation,
    whisper,
    secret,
    dated,
    …-pated,
    love-struck flutter of the heart.

  22. “Just when I thought I was out…[Frank] pulls me back in!” (think Godfather Part III)

  23. Twitter – an adolescent’s unprocessed emotional dump as well as a nugget of spiritual treasure, a travelogue of the soul and everything in between.

  26. All the little birdies on Jaybird Street love to hear the robins going Tweet Tweet Tweet! Rockin robin

  27. Twitter is like refrigerator magnet or coffee mug wisdom. It might make sense, but it’s not the final word.

  28. i don’t tweet, but there’s a bunch of birds in my back yard that swear by it. i might would if i’d bite the bullet and switch to a smart phone…then i’d have an inferior complex from having a phone that’s smarter than me. to tweet or not to tweet, that is the question.

  30. Twitter- how else can we fulfill Romans 10:18? “But I say, Have they not heard? Yes surely: Their voice has gone out into all the earth and their words to the ends of the inhabited earth.”

  33. I was a cheerleader in high school. When we had a game, we would have a pep rally to attempt to infuse us with what we needed for our battle. I only follow people who say and write about the deeper Christian life, twitter for me is like a daily pep rally and I often pass along the inspiration I get to my family.

  36. Can’t help thinking birds and spring! Here’s a verse with a tweak:

    “For lo, the winter is past,
    the rain is over and gone;
    the flowers appear on the earth;
    the time of the TWITTER of birds is come,
    and the voice of the turtledove
    is heard in our land.”

  38. Twitter: I wish every communion meditation offered at my church on Sundays would fit on twitter. Jesus did it. So can we!

  39. I have it, but I am still trying to figure out how to use it for me. I see how others use it, but I don’t see yet where my comments will have sufficient value to be worth tweeting or being retweeted. 🙂

  42. As far as I can tell, Twitter is currently the best available online tool for initiating connections for business and with the like-minded. I’m a fiction author, and I’ve found that the best way for me to initiate contact with potential readers is to find them on Twitter. If I’m doing my job right, they’ll follow me to my blog and eventually buy my books. As a marketing platform, Twitter is invaluable.

    Twitter is also my primary news source. I find news media thoroughly depressing, what with 9 reports out of 10 concerning death, destruction, and despair. When my Twitter feed starts blowing up on a certain issue, I know it’s something I should pay attention to. (Latest example: I first heard of Trayvon Martin on Twitter.) And the good thing is that my Twitter peeps share good news just as often as they share bad news.

    Along those lines, Twitter is also a fantastic place for people to let their voices be heard where otherwise they’d silent, thereby effecting positive change. Egypt is the example that first comes to mind. But I’ve also seen individuals tweet their personal struggles — and get flooded with encouragements from friends and strangers from all over the globe.

    When I first heard of Twitter, I thought it was stupid — yet another time-sucking, mindless form of social media. When I first started twittering myself, I didn’t see the point.

    Now, I’m thankful that at this point in my life, I don’t have to be without it. ; )

  43. Twitter…ADD world on steroids! Thought I was the only one who had brain “squirrel!” where was I. hey more thoughts randomly coming at me with no filters “squirrel!” I guess I didn’t have enough random “squirrel!” things for all over coming at me.
    For all who don’t know “squirrel!” comes from the movie UP by lizard and the dogs keep saying it randomly. My friends and goof around about it especially when my brain just goes off that way. I have ADD and live with it, Twitter makes almost everyone seem like they have it too so I feel right at home!!! SQUIRREL!!!!! LOL

  47. Twitter…the place where you try to express yourself in as few words as possible and hope somebody understands you.

  48. Twitter: a practice of using less words to convey a deeper meaning. Simplify life, simplify words, simply twitter.

  52. Twitter:

    Has been shown to take up valuable mental space when I decide to read about what celebrities are trying to decide what to have for lunch. (and me stupidly following the crowd)

    Twitter can at times be used to bring a chuckle or belly laugh at the time that is needed.

    Twitter is also a tool to be used by some amazing people (and I hope sometimes me) to encourage the faith and to challenge independence of thought.

    Twitter is the power of 140 keystrokes for our message of FAITH, HOPE and LOVE. That Jesus is who He says He is. 🙂

  53. Twitter–SCARY ! I refuse to learn it. WWII generation wants phone calls, Baby Boomers want email, Gen X, Y and Mill’s want TWITTER..nope I refuse to tax my brain to learn one more new thing 🙂

  54. Twitter. Operative word: twit.

    >>…twit the noun comes from twit the verb. The latter has its origin in twite, which was formed, via aphesis (the loss of an unstressed initial vowel or syllable), from atwite “to reproach”. Its Old English form was aetwitan “to reproach with”, from at + witan “to blame”. Wit, of course, meant “knowledge”, and aetwitan therefore meant “to not know, to censure”. It was not until the 18th century that twit gained its “idiot” sense from association with “one who is reproached”. Some etymologists also believe that it might have been influenced by such other derogatory words as twerp and its similarity to nitwit (nit- The egg or young form of a louse or other parasitic insect, esp. the egg of a head louse attached to a human hair). << http://www.takeourword.com/Issue017.html

    I like my humor the way I like my chocolate, a little dark. 😉

  55. Twitter: the sound of tiles colliding, swirled by nicotine stained, wrinkled and storied hands to begin another Friday night of Mah Jongg

  56. Twitter- the place where the people you follow are your friends, your followers are, well… just followers until they mention you, where strange purple eggs attempt to lure you to places you don’t wish to go, you’re limited to be concise and clever by 140 characters and a single impressionable thought can be multiplied like a viral epidemic.

    The first rule of twitter is do not talk to purple eggs or their new colorful friends.

  57. Using Twitter is like writing a high tech haiku. Keep it to form, keep it precise, make it say something of value, make it be read, make the reader pause.

  60. Twitter, flitter, pitter, patter, pancakes for breakfast, pour the batter, what Frank writes, yes it matters, if you don’t like it, go get Mikey (you know he’ll like it!).

  63. Would Jesus tweet? Yes, I think He would. He was a man who did not spend His words or His time wastefully. He reached out to people where they were, so I think that were He physically in the world today yes, He would use Twitter and 140 characters would be no problem.

    In reality He does use Twitter, and those led by the Spirit post His truths every day, Encouraging, enlightening, speaking life, light and hope into the lives of many.

  65. Twitter: The wonder of connections, creating new places for God’s love to pass from person to person.

  67. Dr. Twitter and Mr. Hyde: Sometimes a great source of information and encouragement, and oftentimes a great distraction.

  71. Twitter
    To
    Win
    Influence
    Through
    Thoughtful
    Encouraging
    Responses

    Richard Blankenship’s post is infectious
    = )

    • Twitter

      Texting
      With
      Internet
      Technology
      Tracking
      Electron
      Routes

      Thanks for the shout out Jim, but I think yours wins…

  74. twitter fulfills the human condition:
    “I wish that my words could be written down or chiseled into rock. I know that my Savior lives, and at the end he will stand on this earth. My flesh may be destroyed, yet from this body I will see God. Yes, I will see him for myself, and I long for that moment.” (Job 19:23-27 CEV)
    twitter fulfills the purpose of God:
    “Jesus did many other things. If they were all written in books, I don’t suppose there would be room enough in the whole world for all the books.” (John 21:25 CEV)

  75. Twitter seems to keep people as acquaintances. You never get to know the real person until you can get over just chatting to them in 140 characters. But it does get you (and me) to see how God is moving in people lives with similar ideas all around the world.
    @stm101

  76. Twitter, twitter, the digital treat
    The more you follow, the more you tweet
    The more you tweet, the more you blog
    So let’s not tweet, for the love of God!

  77. 1) To utter a succession of small, tremulous sounds, as a bird.

    2) To tremble with excitement or the like; be in a flutter.

    Both of these definitions hold strong memories of my childhood. The first definition reminds me of walking through the backyards of my youth, listening to the birds … and the second was how my Grandmother described my state of being most of the time. 🙂

  78. The world is TWITTERpated by the amount of opinion, gossip and information at our fingertips through social media networks. It’s an obsession with knowing everything all at once.

  82. I will weigh in, while I do check it from time to time and I have given in to Facebook some, what concerns me most is that we no longer have any filters in our society. All forms of communication should be used with caution. I have watched people filled with emotions both good and bad and feel the need to Tweet instantly. So many people have been hurt and offend because of the instant feed back with out thinking. In the old days you might be upset with someone and begin to write them a letter, before you are done you rip the letter up because you have had second thoughts, and that letter goes in the trash. Today once it is out there it is out there. Slow to speak quick to listen comes to mind. I try to remember that I have one mouth and two ears. I made a challenge on Facebook in days gone by that you could only use Facebook to post good things about others. So Frank while I do not post much I appreciate your amazing heart and insight I am a better man because of you and the Lord

  85. In our short attention span society it might be better than nothing that Jesus gets our attention in 140 character bursts through the day, but I am sure that Jesus used his pithy tweets (i.e. “Remember Lot’s wife” or “blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted”) to draw our attention back to His lengthy blog posts (Sermon on the Mount, Passover Seder Dialogues, and Emmaus Road). Then even that is insufficient. It seems He is looking for face-time and not facebook.

    My guess is He wants to move in with us. He’s got some obsession with being LinkedIn, and something He calls “abiding.”

  87. Twitter. If you can scrap enough cash together to get a cell phone, which many third world youths have done, you now have a voice. Heck, you can get cell reception in a village that has very little water in Malawi (the 5th poorest country in the world). So, if enough voices ask, discuss, TWEET on the same topic… people just might notice. For most of us twitter is entertainment, but for others it is freedom, hope, and power that once was unattainable. The world now has a platform for anyone and everyone to communicate: Twitter.

  90. TWITTER -> One way I pass along God speaking through others and myself. (Don’t need a free book though Frank; have them all : )

  91. Twitter, oh Twitter
    How you steal my thoughts
    Whenever I’m bored
    I fall to your plots

    Oh how I wish
    I could fly far away
    Where there never was Twitter
    To capture my day

    Amen.

  92. @FrankViola Twitter is as a Two knife edges. If is used on one side can to hurt, but by other side can Building and Encourage.

  97. “Like a swallow, like a crane, so I twitter; I moan like a dove; My eyes look wistfully to the heights; O Lord, I am oppressed, be my security.” (Isaiah 38:14, NASB)

  98. Hello!

    I’m not a tweeter user (nor a facebook user by the way…).
    But I would be really happy to receive a free copy of one of your book : it will help me to improve my english (and to seek the Lord Jesus more and more of course).

  100. Twitter: noun: A series of short, high-pitched calls or sounds. Or… the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, preparing the way for the Lord. Depends on what you do with it.

  105. Twitter helps me stalk famous people in a non-creepy way. This is better for everyone involved (besides, I lost my good pair of binoculars).

  111. I’ve always thought Jesus prefers Twitter over Facebook. After all, He said “follow me” and not just “like me.” I believe modern churches look for “Facebook Jesus:” someone they like and agree with in every single thing. “Twitter Jesus” has the freedom to be more controversial. I certainly do not like some of the things Jesus said; However, I struggle with them, trying not to domesticate them. So, when it comes to Jesus, don’t just compulsively hit the “like” button. He invites us to follow and find out how likable He really is.
    Shalom.

    • If someone doesn’t have any meaningful thing to say, their sin on twitter will find them out.If they do have something meaningful to contribute I follow them on any other engaging social or web media they may have.

      Peace.

    • I was about to say ” I just like the answer”, but I refrained!
      Shalom to you too.

    • I never bothered to know what it was. This platform has helped me to learn more about Twitter as well as the benefits. I’ll be on Twitter straight from here and start twitting!

      Thanks to all

  114. Twitter: my one stop shop for all things Frank Viola and Snooki. All in 140 characters or less.

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