Christians have traditionally had issues with confrontation. This I think is because we espouse a theology that fosters love toward one another, always thinking of the other person than oneself. Maybe because we view ourselves as brothers and sisters, we feel that confrontation is unchristian but unbeknownst to us that we are avoiding the latent ingredient in confrontation that is part of the constituents of a healthy family. We have to be aware of the differential between confrontation and violence. The two are not the same.
One other reason why Christians are confrontive is that Christians are people of conviction, which makes it easily for us to divide the world into “us” and “them.”
Here is my dilemma in avoiding confrontation: Confrontation when unacknowledged and embedded with our false humility or quasi religious pietism, results in suppressed emotion, which could easily trigger off one’s existing anxious emotional process. This results in confrontive people.
We have to confront when we need to but we must avoid violence at all cost if we want to be followers of Christ. We must learn how to be comfortable with confrontation as Jesus was.
Look at the Gospel of Luke and you will find that majority of the stories about Jesus were confrontational. He was in one occasion violent (I mean he got physical). Can you believe that? Remember we are talking about the meek and gentle Jesus.
This is not a call to confront a fellow Christian over sitting on your favorite pew on a Sunday morning service, or drinking the last cup coffee during church breakfast without replacing a new one. This confrontation is about speaking up against injustice, exploitation of the poor and powerless. It is about confronting our political leaders and holding them accountable for their failure to defend the cause of the weak. It’s about holding religious leaders accountable for their failure to reflect what they teach and preach; when they live ostentatious life styles while there are poor people around us. Some of these religious leaders have more than two private jets while there are single parents in their churches who cannot afford to feed their two year old children because they have tithed their last penny in faith to the church. They preach and encourage the congregation to live by faith, while they themselves live in surfeit of luxury. What would Jesus do? We are confrontive over trivial issues but refuse to engage in the real issues facing the church. What shall we do?
copentecost 
Let us not use confrontation,instead use the word of God,prayer and witness to invite our fallen brethren back to the fold. I believe in the Non violence act but,if the church would like to confront you must do so appropriately among other beloved believers.Jesus is altogether powerful than any of us.(Psalm:93:1,5 The Lord is king,he is robed in majesty;The Lord is robed, he is girded with strength,He established the world ;it shall never be moved;your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting. 5, Your decrees are very sure;Holiness befits your house
O Lord ,forevermore.
The churches who perform such plundering acts do not understand the truths and principles of God. There are divine guidelines that are deference to walk in the ways of The Lord:They are comfort enough to make the simple profound and Grace to make the sad joyful.The Gospel of the word is comfort,joy not prosperity.God did not died to make us happy, He died to make us holy.
Let these church be reminded that Gods word is the Source of the believer.(1 Timothy:6:10, For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil,for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness and pierced themselves through many sorrows.
Religious leaders, pastors, ministers lets not forget Gethsemane,let not forget thy agony and lead us to Calvary the cross where he died for all.
Shalom to you.
Ann
Thank you Ann, for your thoughts. I am glad that prayer and the word of God works for you. However, I was not referring to violence or fallen brethren. I highlighted that we should avoid violence at all cost. By confrontation I mean 1.) speaking up against injustice and exploitation of the less privileged. 2.) Speaking our minds in stead of harboring ills in our hearts against fellow Christians and pretending that all is well. 3.) Not being superficial but being forthright with one another even if it hurts to say it. Jesus did not only prayer for the religious and political leaders of his time who oppressed the poor, and denied justice the disenfranchised. He confronted them and even when He came to the temple and found that the only place where the Gentiles could worship in the Temple was taken over by the religious and made into a market place, He over threw their table and made a cord of whip and chased them away. He does not need to pray in that situation. There is place and time for prayer. There is also the time to act.
God’s Best.
Blessing