Skip to content ↓

A Short History of This Site

This site first came to life in September of 2002. I registered the domain challies.com primarily as a place to display photos of my children. My parents and siblings had moved down to Atlanta a few years earlier, and I wanted to be able to provide them with updated pictures of those of us who elected to remain in the north. At that time this site was more a photo album than anything else. However, every now and then I would take the time to do some writing. My 5-part series about Calvinism and the article entitled The Myth of Mother Teresa both came from that time. There was little traffic on this site, but I went ahead and posted them anyways.

A few months after the site was launched I started to do some research on a topic that escapes my memory at the moment (but I think it may have been creationism). As I combed the Internet looking for applicable articles I came across two sites that would be foundational in turning my site into something more. First, I found Southern View Chapel, the home of Garry Gilley and Think on These Things Ministries. I saw his lists of book reviews, read through a lot of them and found them very helpful. I was an avid reader and thought it was great that he would share his thoughts on these books with the rest of the world. I also came across He Lives, the blog of David Heddle. I found it an excellent resource for Christian topics. It was really the first blog I had read and I was quite taken with the idea. From his site I connected with many other blogs and decided right away that I had to make my site into a blog. I went ahead and found some blogging software, got it installed and began to write.

At first I focused on book reviews, but soon expanded into other topics. I tried to post every couple of days, but as the weeks went on found my posts getting farther and farther apart. On October 31 of last year I decided I would either have to stop blogging or begin to take it more seriously, so on that day I decided I would blog every day for a whole year. There has never been a hobby I have stuck with for more than a few weeks at a time, until this one. At the time I’m writing this I’m only a couple of weeks away from achieving my goal. And of course I intend to renew my commitment. I am quite addicted to it now.

Blogging really has changed my life. I look at it as a spiritual discipline – something I do to ensure that I continue to grow spiritually. If I stopped growing I have to assume that I would rapidly run out of things to write about. There have been a few times in the past year where I have gotten tired of it and have become lax spiritually, and it’s amazing how quickly my writing falls accordingly. So to stay sharp I have to keep reading, keep learning, keep growing.

Of course the best part of blogging has been getting involved in a small, but powerful community online. I have had the privilege of getting to know many people I otherwise never would have met. Many of these people are fellow bloggers, while others hang out in the forums. While I love writing and sharing my thoughts on a variety of issues, it is through the subsequent comments and discussion that I have grown the most.

And that is your 2-minute history of Challies Dot Com.


  • Finn

    I’m a Grandfather!

    Yesterday Abby and Nathan welcomed their first child into the world: Finnegan Safir Nicholas Elfarrah. Because they live just minutes away, Aileen and I were able to be there shortly after his birth to rejoice with them and to meet our first grandchild. We are thrilled beyond measure. And he is cute beyond belief. They…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (November 20)

    A La Carte: Pray till you pray / Do children need to consent to puberty? / Pleading for Sodom / A thought experiment / 10 mistakes when reading the Bible / Kindle deals / and more.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (November 19)

    A La Carte: Good night, my son / The longing for justice following sexual assault / Daughter of encouragement / Mistakes I made as a theological student / The dangers of disordered love / Kindle deals / and more.

  • What Grieves the Heart of God

    What Grieves the Heart of God?

    What pleases God? What delights his heart? And what displeases God? What grieves his heart? If asked, I think most of us would assume that if we ever grieve the heart of God it will be through denying the gospel or committing a grave moral scandal. Or if we do so as a local church,…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (November 18)

    A La Carte: When God does not need our service / How to forgive and move on / A devotional for depression / Can a speeding ticket change your heart? / Is it I, Lord? / Kindle deals / and more.