{"id":830750,"date":"2024-06-24T05:00:16","date_gmt":"2024-06-24T10:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/?p=830750"},"modified":"2024-06-21T15:28:43","modified_gmt":"2024-06-21T20:28:43","slug":"removing-the-like-button-from-churches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/","title":{"rendered":"Removing the Like Button from Churches"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I guess like buttons have their place in social media, blogs, podcasts, and other methods of communication. I pray, though, that I will avoid the temptation to see the various aspects of my church as a place where I can determine whether it meets my needs and gets my \u201clike\u201d affirmation.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I pray that I will not evaluate the music style in my church with a like button. Instead, I pray that I will be grateful to those who give of themselves every week to provide us with worshipful music.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I pray I will not evaluate preaching in my church with a like button. Instead of deciding if the length is best for me and the exposition precisely as I would prefer, I pray that I will be thankful for a pastor who faithfully prepares and preaches a message every week.<\/span><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I pray that I will not evaluate the pastoral care in my church with a like button. Instead, I pray I will realize fully that we don\u2019t pay our staff to do all the ministry; their primary work is to equip us for the work of ministry.<\/span><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I pray that I will not evaluate the order of worship in my church with a like button. Instead, I pray that I will demonstrate gratitude that I have the freedom to worship in my church and that I will not be so petty to insist on an order of worship the way I prefer.<\/span><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I pray I will not evaluate our church budget and spending with a like button. Instead, I pray that I will be grateful for those who give and for a church that seeks to be the best steward of those gifts.<\/span><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I pray I will not evaluate volunteers in my church with a like button. Instead, I pray I will have a heart of gratitude that they give freely of themselves without pay and most of them without recognition.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>\u00a0<\/b>I pray I will not evaluate my church overall with a like button. Indeed, I pray that I will not see my church as a place to get my needs and preferences met.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My church is not a social media channel built upon likes and up-and-down votes. My church is built upon the sacrifice and work of Christ. He labored for me. He prayed for me. He died for me. The least I can do is to love his bride, the church, as he loves her. The least I can do is to seek unity and be a source of unity in the church.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other\u2019s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourself united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future (Ephesians 4:1-4, NLT).<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I guess like buttons have their place in social media, blogs, podcasts, and other methods of communication. I pray, though, that I will avoid the temptation to see the various aspects of my church as a place where I can determine whether it meets my needs and gets my \u201clike\u201d affirmation. I pray that I&#8230;","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":830753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"publish_to_discourse":"0","publish_post_category":"1","wpdc_auto_publish_overridden":"","wpdc_topic_tags":"","wpdc_pin_topic":"","wpdc_pin_until":"","discourse_post_id":"","discourse_permalink":"","wpdc_publishing_response":"","wpdc_publishing_error":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,195,184,179,175,177,14796,180,18470,194,185],"tags":[19159,19158,19156,19036,19157],"class_list":["post-830750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-church-answers","category-conflict-and-people-problems","category-discipleship","category-first-impressions","category-grow","category-lead","category-monday-wednesday-featured","category-outreach-and-evangelism","category-prayer-grow","category-preaching","category-worship","tag-church-evaluation","tag-churches","tag-like-button","tag-prayer","tag-social-media"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Removing the Like Button from Churches | Church Answers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I guess like buttons have their place in social media, blogs, podcasts, and other methods of communication. I pray, though, that I will avoid the temptation to see the various aspects of my church as a place where I can determine whether it meets my needs and gets my \u201clike\u201d affirmation.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Removing the Like Button from Churches | Church Answers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I guess like buttons have their place in social media, blogs, podcasts, and other methods of communication. I pray, though, that I will avoid the temptation to see the various aspects of my church as a place where I can determine whether it meets my needs and gets my \u201clike\u201d affirmation.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Church Answers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-06-24T10:00:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Floating-Blue-Thumb-Up-Like-Icon-3D-Rendering.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Thom S. Rainer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Thom S. Rainer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Thom S. Rainer\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47ecb0b82afa1c1b6a9d1003673d2e90\"},\"headline\":\"Removing the Like Button from Churches\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-24T10:00:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/\"},\"wordCount\":518,\"commentCount\":7,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Floating-Blue-Thumb-Up-Like-Icon-3D-Rendering.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Church Evaluation\",\"Churches\",\"Like Button\",\"Prayer\",\"Social Media\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Church Answers\",\"Conflict &amp; People Problems\",\"Discipleship\",\"First Impressions\",\"Grow\",\"Lead\",\"Monday\/Wednesday Featured\",\"Outreach &amp; Evangelism\",\"Prayer\",\"Preaching\",\"Worship\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/\",\"name\":\"Removing the Like Button from Churches | Church Answers\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Floating-Blue-Thumb-Up-Like-Icon-3D-Rendering.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-24T10:00:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47ecb0b82afa1c1b6a9d1003673d2e90\"},\"description\":\"I guess like buttons have their place in social media, blogs, podcasts, and other methods of communication. I pray, though, that I will avoid the temptation to see the various aspects of my church as a place where I can determine whether it meets my needs and gets my \u201clike\u201d affirmation.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Floating-Blue-Thumb-Up-Like-Icon-3D-Rendering.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Floating-Blue-Thumb-Up-Like-Icon-3D-Rendering.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":628,\"caption\":\"Floating Blue Thumb Up Like Icon 3D Rendering\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Removing the Like Button from Churches\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/\",\"name\":\"Church Answers\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47ecb0b82afa1c1b6a9d1003673d2e90\",\"name\":\"Thom S. Rainer\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a8c3ff1affa60c1a7bb88c4be178b40a86d32ab697f24a7e5802cc5875ab6eae?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a8c3ff1affa60c1a7bb88c4be178b40a86d32ab697f24a7e5802cc5875ab6eae?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Thom S. Rainer\"},\"description\":\"With nearly 40 years of ministry experience, Thom Rainer has spent a lifetime committed to the growth and health of local churches across North America.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/author\/thomrainer\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Removing the Like Button from Churches | Church Answers","description":"I guess like buttons have their place in social media, blogs, podcasts, and other methods of communication. I pray, though, that I will avoid the temptation to see the various aspects of my church as a place where I can determine whether it meets my needs and gets my \u201clike\u201d affirmation.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Removing the Like Button from Churches | Church Answers","og_description":"I guess like buttons have their place in social media, blogs, podcasts, and other methods of communication. I pray, though, that I will avoid the temptation to see the various aspects of my church as a place where I can determine whether it meets my needs and gets my \u201clike\u201d affirmation.","og_url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/","og_site_name":"Church Answers","article_published_time":"2024-06-24T10:00:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Floating-Blue-Thumb-Up-Like-Icon-3D-Rendering.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Thom S. Rainer","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Thom S. Rainer","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/"},"author":{"name":"Thom S. Rainer","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47ecb0b82afa1c1b6a9d1003673d2e90"},"headline":"Removing the Like Button from Churches","datePublished":"2024-06-24T10:00:16+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/"},"wordCount":518,"commentCount":7,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Floating-Blue-Thumb-Up-Like-Icon-3D-Rendering.png","keywords":["Church Evaluation","Churches","Like Button","Prayer","Social Media"],"articleSection":["Church Answers","Conflict &amp; People Problems","Discipleship","First Impressions","Grow","Lead","Monday\/Wednesday Featured","Outreach &amp; Evangelism","Prayer","Preaching","Worship"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/","url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/","name":"Removing the Like Button from Churches | Church Answers","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Floating-Blue-Thumb-Up-Like-Icon-3D-Rendering.png","datePublished":"2024-06-24T10:00:16+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47ecb0b82afa1c1b6a9d1003673d2e90"},"description":"I guess like buttons have their place in social media, blogs, podcasts, and other methods of communication. I pray, though, that I will avoid the temptation to see the various aspects of my church as a place where I can determine whether it meets my needs and gets my \u201clike\u201d affirmation.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Floating-Blue-Thumb-Up-Like-Icon-3D-Rendering.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Floating-Blue-Thumb-Up-Like-Icon-3D-Rendering.png","width":1200,"height":628,"caption":"Floating Blue Thumb Up Like Icon 3D Rendering"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/removing-the-like-button-from-churches\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Removing the Like Button from Churches"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/","name":"Church Answers","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47ecb0b82afa1c1b6a9d1003673d2e90","name":"Thom S. Rainer","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a8c3ff1affa60c1a7bb88c4be178b40a86d32ab697f24a7e5802cc5875ab6eae?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a8c3ff1affa60c1a7bb88c4be178b40a86d32ab697f24a7e5802cc5875ab6eae?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Thom S. Rainer"},"description":"With nearly 40 years of ministry experience, Thom Rainer has spent a lifetime committed to the growth and health of local churches across North America.","url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/author\/thomrainer\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=830750"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830750\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":830758,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830750\/revisions\/830758"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/830753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=830750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=830750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=830750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}