Christian Self-Reflection During the COVID-19 Pandemic

by

Special to United Methodist Insight

The tragic suicide of 49-year-old Dr. Lorna Breen convinced me that we all need to check on our own health and the well-being of the people we love every day. Dr. Breen was practicing Christian who was the medical director of the emergency department at New York-Presbyterian Allen Hospital. She was responsible for the treatment of hundreds of patients suffering from coronavirus-related illness. She saved the lives of many other people only to take her own life. Dr. Breen was not only a talented physician and leader, she was a survivor of COVID-19 who was recovering in Charlottesville, Va., with her family when she committed suicide. She had an amazing future and seemingly had everything to live for. However, her death convinced me that the “invisible wounds” of this pandemic can impact all of us in ways that go unnoticed without serious self-reflection.

God has blessed me with the opportunity to provide guidance and support to a wide variety of people who have been struggling emotionally and financially during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a professor, I have counseled college students who are having difficulty making the transition to online classes. As a consultant, I have provided advice and support to small business owners who do not know if their business can survive the economic shutdown. As a Certified Lay Minister (CLM), I have prayed with and for Christians who have doubted their faith during this time of intense pain and suffering. These people each have their own unique challenges. However, given the many problems the world is currently facing, those of us that profess to be Christians need to do some serious reflection on our spiritual, mental and physical state during the pandemic.

I encourage people who are dealing with severe mental and emotional problems to seek the help of their pastor and a trained medical professional. However, to help people who are feeling stressed during this crisis, my father, the Rev. Gilbert H. Caldwell, and I developed the “Christian Self-Reflection Map” introduced in this article to encourage people who consider themselves Christians to do a check-in on their spiritual, mental and physical state on a regular basis. Our hope is that when people first look at the map they will be inspired to ask themselves the question, “As a Christian, what ‘zone’ am I in today?” The purpose of this question is to motivate them to think about the current state of their Christian faith during this challenging time.

We want them to begin the exercise by reflecting on whether they are in a “Panic Zone” where they are consciously or subconsciously questioning their faith and fearful about their future. To facilitate that self-assessment we have included six “I” statements which include “I rely on myself instead of God” and “I doubt the power of prayer”. Christians in this zone are struggling at the present moment and should strive to develop greater awareness of what they need to do to move out of the Panic Zone. These statements will clearly resonate with some people but not others.

We then encourage people looking at the Christian Self-Reflection Map to determine whether or not they are in an “Awareness Zone” where they are conscious of the stress they are feeling and are aware that they should rely on their Christian faith to deal with it. The six “I” statements in this zone include “I know that God calls me to help others” and “I reflect on Scripture regularly.” In this zone, people are aware of their challenges and what they have to do as Christians but have not been successful in living their faith.

Finally, we want people to think about the things they must do to enter the “Christian Zone” where they are positively dealing with their own spiritual, mental and physical state. The eight “I” statements found in this zone include “I pray frequently and acknowledge Jesus Christ as my Savior” and “I attend religious services regularly.” People in the Christian Zone have submitted themselves to God and are allowing the Holy Spirit to guide them through this challenging crisis. They realize that they are not “perfect” Christians but are finding strength in actualizing their faith.

We have been pleasantly surprised by the large number of people who have found that this Christian Self-Reflection Map helps them develop a better understanding of how their Christian faith can help them deal with the many different challenges that they are currently facing. Even though many people can see aspects of themselves in all three zones, they have found that the self-reflection this map inspires has helped them become more hopeful about their future. This map will not transform non-believers into believers. However, it may be a useful tool for those Christians who are feeling stressed and sad because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Dale G. Caldwell is a Certified Lay Minister (CLM). He is an active member of the United Methodist Church at New Brunswick, N.J., and a Greater New Jersey Annual Conference Delegate to Jurisdictional Conference and Alternate Delegate to General Conference. Dr. Caldwell is also a professor and the executive director of the Fairleigh Dickinson University Rothman Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Dr. Caldwell can be reached by email at drdgcaldwell@gmail.com.