by design | Aug 31, 2026 | Columnist, Pratt
By Justin Pratt, Clear Springs Baptist Church Senior Pastor You have seen it a thousand times. So, have I. A headline appears on your screen: “You Won’t Believe What Happened Next!” or “This Changes Everything!” Curiosity gets the best of you, so you click, only to...
by design | Aug 31, 2026 | Columnist, Rector
By Joe Rector joerector@comcast.net We all woke up this morning hoping that the news wasn’t true, that we’d just had a bad dream. However, with the sunlight came the realization that Dolly Parton is gone. Just like it was hard to believe that she was 80, the...
by design | Aug 30, 2026 | Columnist, Hunley, Stories In This Week's Focus:
By Steve Hunley The big news of last week was also the saddest, with the announcement of Dolly Parton’s passing. Hers was a uniquely American story coming from a large and poor family in Sevier County. Dolly Parton’s genius was her weaving together a tapestry of her...
by design | Aug 30, 2026 | Columnist, Hill, Ray Hill's Archives, Stories In This Week's Focus:
By Ray Hill Hillary Clinton was not the first outsider to shop for a seat in the United States Senate from New York; that distinction belonged to Robert F. Kennedy, younger brother of President John F. Kennedy. Robert Kennedy had been the assistant legal counsel to...
by design | Aug 24, 2026 | Columnist, Rector
By Joe Rector Once upon a time, a little boy was born into two families as their first grandchild. Of course, those grandparents doted on the little boy and showered him with enough love and gifts until he needed nothing. His wise parents lived in a different city and...
by design | Aug 24, 2026 | Columnist, Pratt
By Justin Pratt, Clear Springs Baptist Church Senior Pastor The first family in human history did not live long outside the Garden before sin found its way from the human heart into human hands. Genesis 4 introduces us to Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam and...