Sobornost at 3 a.m.

June 10, 2026

Sobornost at 3 a.m.

Sobornost is a profound Russian spiritual concept that speaks of deep, organic unity, the living communion of all believers joined together as one in Christ. It is not mere togetherness, but a mystical oneness in the Holy Spirit. Fyodor Dostoevsky explored this longing for true spiritual unity in The Brothers Karamazov.

I believe I have tasted something of that unity.

What began as a small mustard seed of obedience has grown into something far greater than I ever expected. Jesus said, “If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed… nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Matthew 17:20). Looking back, I can see that the Lord was not asking for something grand. He was asking for a simple yes.

Two years ago, as President of Lettermen of the USA, I prayed earnestly about whether we should divert furniture and materials originally intended for veterans in Alabama to help victims of Hurricane Helene in the northeast mountains of Tennessee. That storm had dropped an almost unimaginable two trillion gallons of rain on the region, devastating entire communities.

After praying, I walked into my room, and the answer was playing on the television: my favorite movie, It’s a Wonderful Life. There, in a profound moment, Jimmy Stewart stood on the bridge questioning everything. I took a photo of the screen at that exact instant, with Zuzu’s petals in view. It became a quiet but unmistakable confirmation from the Lord. “Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it” (Isaiah 30:21). That moment of sacrificial obedience marked a turning point.

Soon after, on December 15, 2024, volunteers, including members from the 1/117 Air Refueling Wing, were out in the rain loading trucks we rented from our partner, Metro Truck Rental. We ultimately transferred 1,500 square feet of furniture and materials from our Birmingham warehouse. The supplies were delivered to the historic Bethesda Church and School community, where more volunteers gathered inside the church to help distribute the aid. It was a living picture of Sobornost in action. “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).

Since that decision, these encounters with the Lord have steadily increased, growing exponentially.

Between 2:30 and 3:00 in the morning, during the Hour of Mercy, I am often awakened and called to prayer. In the stillness of those hours, I understand more deeply the words of the Psalmist, “Deep calleth unto deep” (Psalm 42:7).

When I pray the Lord’s Prayer exactly as Saint Matthew wrote it, “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name,” a powerful yet gentle electrical energy fills my body. Every nerve stands on end in a good way. My room fills with deep purple and black hues, and light literally cracks through the ceiling as if heaven itself is opening. Countless points of white light surround me.

In that sacred moment, the severe chronic pain I have carried for decades in my hands and legs from my football days, from age twelve through Alabama football, completely disappears. I think of the promise, “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31).

This Presence is gentle, like a perfect gentleman. If I lose concentration and get up, it respectfully withdraws and waits until I return to focused prayer. It never forces. It only invites. “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

On July 30, 2019, at 4:30 a.m., I expired. As my body lay still, I could hear everything, the heartbeat of every creature in the woods and even within the walls of the house. Then I became aware of an enormous Consciousness.

Since that day, and especially since the mustard seed moment two years ago, I have had vivid dreams that feel like remnants from that time outside of time. I walk through grand mahogany staircases and great hallways where people move with purpose. I have sat in vast halls with old teammates and coaches from my Alabama days, remembering the old times.

These experiences all speak of the same mystery.

When I look at the fiery sunrise painting the Coosa River gold, the gentle white-tailed doe standing in the tall grass of my yard, or the moon glowing through pink and purple clouds, I see the same beauty that fills my room at 3:00 a.m., the same purple hues, the same sense that the veil between heaven and earth has grown thin. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork” (Psalm 19:1).

In Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, Gibson deliberately showed his own hands driving the nails into Jesus. He understood that we all did. Through the Cross, we are all connected. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Yet by that same Cross, mercy reaches every one of us.

Through the Second Adam, Jesus Christ, that broken unity is redeemed and made whole. “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22). This is true Sobornost, all things brought together in Him, “that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ” (Ephesians 1:10).

Eternity is not far away. It grows quietly, like a mustard seed, in the heart of one who says yes to God, one prayer at a time, one act of obedience at a time, until the presence of the Lord fills the room and the line between heaven and earth becomes almost invisible.

A single mustard seed, small and seemingly insignificant, resting on parched, cracked earth.

Yet Jesus taught us that faith the size of this tiny seed can move mountains: “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed… nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Matthew 17:20).

From one quiet yes to God—two years ago when we obeyed the call to help Hurricane Helene victims—has grown something far greater than we imagined. What began as simple obedience has blossomed into deeper encounters with the Lord, living pictures of Sobornost, and a powerful reminder that the Kingdom of God grows quietly but irresistibly in surrendered hearts.

Never underestimate the power of a mustard seed. One small act of faith, offered in love, can change everything.

In the midst of overwhelming storms, a child clings to the only anchor that remains—the Word of God. This powerful image represents the families of Northeast Tennessee and Western North Carolina who endured the catastrophic flooding from Hurricane Helene.

Two years ago, the Lord led Lettermen of the USA to answer their cry. What began as a mustard seed of obedience—diverting furniture and supplies from our Alabama warehouse—became a tangible expression of Sobornost: believers bearing one another’s burdens in the name of Christ.

Even in the darkest waters, God is faithful. We continue to lift these precious families in prayer, trusting that the same Lord who calms the storm can restore what was lost.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).

God bless and comfort every storm victim. We stand with you.

Lettermen of the USA drivers and volunteers stand together with local Tennessee volunteers who opened their hearts and hands to help their own communities after Hurricane Helene.

Taken at Bethesda Church, this photo represents the heart of Sobornost in action — believers from different places, backgrounds, and generations united in Christ to bear one another’s burdens.

From loading trucks in the pouring Alabama rain to delivering hope in the mountains of Northeast Tennessee, this group turned a mustard seed of obedience into real, tangible relief for storm victims.

Thank you to every driver, volunteer, and local partner. This is what it looks like when God’s people say “yes.”

One Body. One mission. One Lord.

Lettermen of the USA — Serving Veterans & Communities in Crisis

The exact moment the Lord answered.

After praying earnestly about whether Lettermen of the USA should divert furniture and supplies intended for Alabama veterans to help Hurricane Helene victims in Northeast Tennessee, I walked into my room — and this was playing on the television: It’s a Wonderful Life, my all-time favorite Christmas movie.

I had never told anyone that detail.

At that very instant, Jimmy Stewart (George Bailey) stood on the bridge in one of the film’s most pivotal, soul-searching scenes. I snapped the photo as confirmation. “Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it” (Isaiah 30:21).

That mustard seed of obedience led to trucks being loaded in the rain, supplies delivered to Bethesda Church, and lives touched in the mountains. It also opened the door to the deeper encounters with the Lord I’ve experienced since.

God still speaks — sometimes through a beloved movie at just the right moment.

Yes, we did the right thing.

Lettermen of the USA — Following where He leads.

On July 30, 2019, at 4:30 a.m., I was doing P90X on the living room floor when I expired.

While my body lay still on this very mat, I could hear the heartbeat of every creature in the woods and within the walls of the house. Then I became aware of an enormous Consciousness.

That moment on the living room floor changed everything. The old man died that morning — and a new surrender was born.

Years later, the Lord still meets me in this same place, in the early morning hours, with the same gentle yet powerful Presence.

The veil is thin right here on the floor.

Since that day — and especially since the mustard seed moment of obedience two years ago — I have had vivid dreams that feel like remnants from that time outside of time.

I walk through grand mahogany staircases and great hallways where people move with purpose. I have sat in vast halls with old teammates and coaches from my Alabama days, remembering the old times.

These dreams are not random. They are echoes of the enormous Consciousness I encountered when I expired on the living room floor on July 30, 2019. They speak of the same mystery: the thin veil between heaven and earth, and the deep unity of all things in Christ — true Sobornost.

One day, we will all ascend these stairs together into the fullness of His presence.

Until then, I keep saying yes.

This powerful image captures the essence of Sobornost—the profound Russian spiritual concept of deep, organic unity and mystical communion of all believers as one in Christ. A radiant figure of the Lord stands with open arms amid glowing crosses of light, drawing a vast multitude together in sacred oneness. Just as the Holy Spirit unites us beyond mere togetherness, this scene reflects the living reality of “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). In the stillness of prayer, heaven touches earth, and the veil grows thin—reminding us that through the Cross, our broken humanity is redeemed and gathered together in Him. “That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ” (Ephesians 1:10).

True Sobornost: one Body, one Spirit, one Lord.