‘Heaven is for Real’: The Church Visit
Looking for a Sign at Crossroads Wesleyan Church in Imperial, Nebraska
--
My former church had a sign out front that needed a collection plate for how many eye rolls it got.
“Looking for a sign from God? Here’s one.”
It was displayed for months. After so long, the message began taunting me. Insatiable questions would spin in my head like the Tasmanian Devil twirling through a merry-go-round factory. ‘When will God show me a sign?’ ‘Why isn’t Jesus Christ revealing His divine image in the tortilla of my Taco Bell crunch wrap?’ ‘Would I see “The Sign” if I started singing Ace of Base on Karaoke Night?’
So I’d go to church, selfishly thinking God owed me a sign. During sermon, I’d daydream going to heaven after watching the Blue Collar Comedy Tour the night before. My personal Revelation envisioned God looking down on me wearing a Jeff Foxworthy mustache, surrounded by a cherubim of harp-playing 5th graders who had smarter geography skills than me. I’d look up at my maker, then mutter something stupid like “Is this heaven?” Right on cue, Bill Engvall would fly down on angel’s wings only to snap, “No, it’s Iowa. Here’s your sign”.
But God was a good God. Simon Peter would check my name off the judgment list and lift the velvet rope to admit me into heaven’s pearly gates. Jesus would greet me at the front, take my hand and give me the tour. We’d board an ark to splash down Noah’s Waterpark, whirl up in Elijah’s Horse Fire Chariot Rides, and pump iron in Samson’s Weight Room. Upon learning that I had been single my entire life, My Savior would correct my lifetime singleness and yoke me up with an angelic woman that actually fell from heaven. We’d finalize our vows with a kiss to gross-out the 5th graders, then float down the aisle to our honeymoon suite, haunted by chilling echoes of a halo-wearing Larry the Cable Guy shouting, “Git-R-Done!”
I’d snap back to earth, but trusting in Him began to animate my faith. Is heaven for real or was it just a bunch of looney tunes?
If God existed, why did He drop off a cliff like Wile E. Coyote after the Bible was complete? A TNT fuse was lit in my spirituality, ready to go KAPOOM! at any moment regarding the finality of the Bible. So I’m supposed to believe the vengeful Old Testament God rained Sodom & Gomorrah, the loving New Testament God gave His one and only Son, then concludes with Porky Pig bursting from the last page of Revelation with “Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-…That’s all folks”?
As deth-spicable as it sounded, I didn’t need to be Bugs Bunny for God to throw a carrot in today’s social media age. Eh, what’s up, God? When it comes to going viral from Facebook to YouTube, how is the Great and Powerful God still behind the curtain? My disordered heart wanted a modern spin to rally my faith behind. Lord, give me a sign!
Then I did see a sign. A Walmart sales sign for a yellow book with a smiling little boy on the cover. It was called Heaven is for Real.
Heaven is for Real is told through the eyes of Todd Burpo, the senior pastor at Crossroads Wesleyan Church in Imperial, Nebraska. In the book, Burpo recounts the near-death experience of his son, Colton. When Colton was four years old, he was ringing death’s doorbell after an emergency appendectomy. During that moment of helplessness, Todd privately escaped to a separate room to angrily pray at God, questioning why He would take his boy after a lifetime of servitude. Miraculously, the family’s prayers were answered when Colton made a full recovery. What happened next was a series of talks where dad began piecing together Colton’s encounter in heaven, as could only be seen through the eyes of an innocent child.
From spending time with Jesus and His “red markers”, to meeting deceased loved ones that he couldn’t have known about, to recalling an out-of-body experience to witness dad’s meltdown with God — Colton’s account gave readers a small glimpse of what’s to come in the afterlife. The claims would probably have left me unconvinced until we learn Burpo showing Colton picture-after-picture-after-picture of artistic interpretations of Jesus. Finally, he identifies Jesus in a painting called the Prince of Peace. As readers learn, the portrait wasn’t completed by a world-renowned artist like Michelangelo or Leonardo Da Vinci. Instead, the painting was completed by a child prodigy named Akiane Kramarik, who completed the painting when she was eight years old after having visions of heaven. To both Colton and Akiane, the most resonating image of Jesus was the beauty in His eyes.
It struck a chord with me, and with so many people having questions about what happens when we die, word-of-mouth spread fast. The book went viral, quickly became an overnight success by ascending to No. 1 on the New York Times best seller’s list. Movies rights were sold a year later. With Greg Kinnear starring as Burpo, the film was released during Easter 2014 and became a box office hit by grossing over $100 million worldwide.
It became my favorite book, renewed my faith, and pumped up my spirit (for awhile anyway). As I continued with my 52 Churches in 52 Weeks voyage, I couldn’t help but wonder ‘what if’. If I’m visiting churches to find people who are strengthening other’s faith, what if I visited the church that ignited such mainstream curiosity about heaven?
So, I went to find out if it was for real.
June 14, 2015–10:30 am Worship Service: Crossroads Wesleyan Church in Imperial, Nebraska (Heaven is for Real)
Revelation 7:9 speaks of heaven like this: “I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language”. This was also the case in Nebraska, except take “from every nation, tribe, people, and language” and replace with “corn, corn, and more corn”.
Desperate to see anything but another cornstalk (at least give me a soybean plant!), an Arbor Day Foundation sign greeted me to Imperial with an advertised population of 2,071. Rolling in, downtown on Broadway Street felt like a ghost town. Every small business was closed, lined-up American flags whimpered between vacant parking spaces and window-painted storefronts rooting on their Huskers. With the Burpo story gaining national exposure, I anticipated the entire town had lined up to enter Burpo’s congregation at Crossroads Wesleyan Church. That wasn’t the case.
Instead, Crossroads was hidden in a pocket corner of town. The road and parking lot was torn to gravel. It looked nothing like how the movie depicts, though that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given Hollywood’s penchant for pizzazz. By my count, the nearby Catholic and Lutheran churches may have outnumbered Crossroads in attendance by the number of cars in their parking lots.
Walking into Crossroads felt a little surreal. Inside was the apex where the movie shows Colton sitting in church when heaven was opened up to him… to which he politely asked the angels to sing “We Will Rock You”. This didn’t happen to me.
Instead, I was more lost than the TV writers who penned the Lost finale. I wandered around aimlessly in the deserted worship area, a little freaked out that no one was joining me with just 20 minutes before worship. Had I died and gone to heaven too? What kind of song choice would I ask the angels to play if I were?
My eyes were rescued by a small portrait of Akiane’s Prince of Peace located by the foyer. It was displayed directly above a Bible that had been opened to Isaiah. Further out by the commons area was a Heaven is for Real movie poster that had been autographed by the Burpos. While exploring, I was approached by a kind woman who introduced herself. We made some small talk and she informed me that Imperial was just minutes into Mountain Time Zone and I had arrived quite early (and not dead). Our conversation eventually touched on Heaven is for Real and if Todd Burpo was preaching that day.
“Would you like to meet Pastor Burpo?” she asked. I was going to decline given my starstruck shyness, but she continued, “Well what do ya know? Here he is now?”
Out of the corner of my eye walked Todd Burpo, a noticeable limp from when he broke his leg during a co-ed softball game (as seen in the movie). We shook hands and matched each other quite well in the awkward introversion department, neither of us quite making direct eye contact as he rocked left-and-right, did a little hokey-pokey, and turned himself around to prep for Bible study.
I quickly found out that Crossroads didn’t have many visitors walk through it’s doors. Numerous members displayed their Midwest hospitality, welcoming me with kindness throughout the day. By far, this was the most pleasant and welcoming church I encountered out of any of the 52 Churches I came across.
After Bible study with Pastor Burpo, I took a seat for service to begin. Sitting in the front row surrounded by friends was Colton, having just turned 16 to earn his driver’s license. I felt uncomfortable taking a picture of Burpo’s teenage son, like the feeling I get if Justin Bieber comes on the radio and sings about relationship advice. His left forearm was in a cast, and looked a little depressed as a result. When the service began, the worship director led Colton and his classmates on stage for a contemporary mix of worship music. Each student specialized in their own instrument while Colton grabbed a mic to sing backup.
After the music, Pastor Burpo took the stage to begin his sermon with a simple question:
“How many of you have prayed a prayer that didn’t get answered the way you prayed?”
‘Me!’, I answered in silence. The congregation of about 50 did the same.
Burpo continued that sometimes we think we know what’s best, but we don’t always get the prayer we want answered. It leaves us so frustrated that sometimes we just give up on that prayer. While God answered his prayer to save Colton and most would think his celebrity family is blessed, God didn’t answer his prayers to repair a strained relationship with his father before his passing. He still struggles with it to this day.
So why doesn’t God give us a sign when we ask for it? Does He care?
Burpo countered with a question of his own. Why did Jesus leave the comforts of heaven, come down to this earth and be born in an animal’s trough? He went through poverty, persecution, misunderstanding, abandonment, and more. He experienced our pain. We can’t say He didn’t care. When we go through pain and say to God “this hurts”, He can say “I know! I’ve done that, I’ve been there too. I know.”
This isn’t heaven yet. When placed in difficult circumstances, Burpo said we have two options. Do you run to God, or do you run away from God. Will I blame God for the problem or will I come to God for help?
At the conclusion of church, Pastor Burpo made sure to come my way and wish me luck on my journey. I walked out of Crossroads, never getting a ‘sign’ or accidentally opening the bathroom door to open a portal to the throne of God. Instead, I had to find patience. The worst part about asking for a sign is the waiting part. Today’s world, all we want is instant gratification. And even though God may show a sign, we probably doubt and ask Him to show another one to make sure it wasn’t an accident. So instead of something I have no control over, I commit my problems to God and play the waiting game.
Before I drove away, I looked up in the sky where the sun was playing peek-a-boo behind the clouds. It was casting a shadow, yet no one had control over that cloud to see the light behind it. So I waited for the cloud to drift by. Waiting for the light to shine. Waiting for a sign.
Waiting. Still waiting.
