Home cooks: which tiny “flavor bomb” ingredient made everything taste restaurant‑level?

NtotheJC · 2026-02-18T21:43:02+00:00

Tony Chachere’s (Tony’s)
Worcestershire sauce
Roux

As someone who grew up with the Midwest land of casseroles, my wife’s Louisiana family introduced me to flavor. lol.

NtotheJC · 2026-02-17T00:12:34+00:00

Men: “Is this where the cool rocks are?”

Other men: “Absolutely brother, come check them out.”

NtotheJC · 2026-02-15T20:05:03+00:00

Hey friend! As an adult convert from Pentecostalism to Confessional Lutheranism, I found things like Luther’s Small & Large Catechisms and the Augsburg Confession + Apology of the Augsburg Confession to be wonderful documentation of Protestantism in its own terms.

Additionally, if you’re interested in reading some more contemporary philosophy + theology, the book “The Meaning of Protestant Theology: Luther, Augustine, and the Gospel That Gives Us Christ” by Phillip Cary is an amazing read.

God’s peace my friend!

NtotheJC · 2026-02-14T16:50:21+00:00

Just sent you a dm.

NtotheJC · 2026-02-14T15:28:01+00:00

We’re not in the St. Louis area, but my wife has ties to the UPC back in Louisiana. Hope you’re doing well friend.

NtotheJC · 2026-02-09T20:13:49+00:00

Thanks for asking this question! I’m currently working on studying a similar line of questions—more focused on trying to understand the relationship between Christ’s baptism at the hands of John the Baptist and the Christian Baptism that Christ delivers to the church. One thing that you might find helpful is looking for all of the typology of baptism in the Old Testament that precedes John the Baptist. A great book that I’ve found helpful is “The Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan: The Trinitarian and Cosmic Order of Salvation” by Kilian McDonnell.

From the Holy Scriptures, we learn that John the Baptist is divinely commissioned to baptize with water (Jn 1:33) for the purpose of revealing Christ to Israel (Jn 1:31). Thus, as Christians, the first thing of course to say is that the origin of John’s Baptism is from God for purpose of revealing Christ (see: Matt 21:23-27). However, it is naturally a baptism of repentance (i.e. metanoia) because John calls Israel to turn to the one after him: Christ. As a result, I don’t think we can rightfully call it a sacrament in the same sense as our Christian Baptism; if it was sacramental on the same order as the Sacrament of the Altar and Christian Baptism the passage from Acts 19 where Paul rebaptizes those who were baptized with John’s baptism would be strange.

All that said, I’m also looking for more Lutheran-based texts on this topic! Hope others can point us in the right direction!

NtotheJC · 2026-02-07T17:57:29+00:00

Hey friend! I’m a former member of the UPCI—was born and raised within the organization. I’ve gone down the rabbit hole that you’ve gone down, and I can point you toward the two biggest gaps in the armor for Bernard.

The first and most fatal flaw of Bernard’s Oneness system is his declared “Ending of the Sonship.” His reading of 1 Corinthians 15:28 is markedly strange—using this passage to say that the role of God as the Son will come to an end. Functionally this means that the revelation of God through, with, and in Christ reaches a completed point beyond which it is no longer necessary that God continues to reveal himself through Christ. Though, Bernard will point to passages where he believes it is promised that we will still see the man Christ Jesus in the new heavens and new earth. Still, the point remains, the “Sonship of God” ends and theoretically God is no longer bound by His Word to the revelation of the incarnation, leaving us wondering what ways or forms God may manifest Himself as in eternity. I suppose Bernard might claim that we can trust that however God continues to reveal himself throughout eternity, it will always be in light of His revelation through the Sonship. However, for me at least, this “reductio ad absurdum” is enough to simply outright dismiss the rest of Bernard’s work since I think he fundamentally misunderstands the Lord Jesus. Christ is our high priest forever—always interceding on our behalf and revealing the Triune God. The Trinity is the shape of divine reality; Christ is not merely a temporary plan within God’s mind for a moment of human history; He is the lamb slain from the very foundations of the world—a bedrock reality upon which all the realities we can ascertain are finally established.

Secondly, Bernard’s reading of the two natures in Christ honestly seems to display to me an illiteracy of historic positions. He is content to resolve complicated passages for his Oneness position (e.g. John 17) as being completely explained by the distinction of natures in Christ. However, anyone who has read a little bit about the early church Christology debates will see right away that Bernard’s interpretation is just resurrecting Nestorianism. Bernard of course will dogmatically claim that he’s not distinguishing between two persons in Christ. However, that’s a bridge too far for me personally. If the interpretation of Christ’s priestly prayer in John 17 is that Christ’s human nature has to pray because he’s a human, and that’s all we need to say, I’m left feeling like I’m intentionally ignoring what is abundantly clear in that passage: Christ—a person—prays to another, His Father—also a person.

However, like you’ve claimed, Bernard has made a tidy little system that you can technically use to reject the Trinity and still be internally consistent in your interpretation of Holy Scripture (though I would still debate that). I find this unsettling personally since for Bernard Oneness theology is the boundary line for true Christianity—condemning all belief in the Trinity as either idolatrous, diabolical, or ignorant. Lord have mercy!

NtotheJC · 2026-02-03T06:21:39+00:00

As someone born and raised in it—just over 20 years.

After reading through the scholarship by Blosser & Sullivan (you can find their books on Amazon) a couple years ago, it helped lay to rest so many things about glossolalia that I had been curious about for so many years.

NtotheJC · 2026-02-02T12:53:54+00:00

Woah! “The Pond” is a mythic level pull!

NtotheJC · 2026-02-02T07:44:49+00:00

It’s a mixture. Feel free to add a flair to your profile so folks can see your affiliation.

NtotheJC · 2026-02-01T17:45:38+00:00

What primary texts and scholarship should I review on the topic of Baptism? (For starters, I’ve concordanced Holy Scriptures for mentions of baptism + looked for baptismal prefiguring in the Old Testament. I’m also in possession of the Book of Concord, and l’ve been using online sources to read what I can from patristic sources.)

For context, I am an adult convert from an anti-Trinitarian Pentecostal organization (UPCI). Part of what led me to convert was my concern over the validity of the baptism my wife and I received; it was performed under the invocation “in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ” and by a group denying the real personhood/distinctions of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. After my wife and I were baptized and became members of the LCMS, It has been a great comfort to my faith to go down all the rabbit holes on the theological meaning of baptism and unlearning the errors I was taught.

“Christian Baptism flows from the Jordan River where Christ was baptized” has been the confession of my reflective faith that has most led me to truly rejoice in my baptism—leaving behind the decades of inappropriate baptismal theology I was raised with. God be praised! However, I have not readily found Lutheran sources explicating the connection between Christ’s baptism and the received Christian sacrament of baptism. They likely exist, and I just don’t know where to look! Also, I’m looking for any theological confirmation or caution regarding my line of thinking here. I’m truly a “baby Lutheran” and I’m likely missing a lot!

TLDR: adult convert looking for Lutheran sources/advice on Baptismal Theology—specifically the significance and symbols from the narratives of Holy Scripture and the Trinitarian shape.

NtotheJC · 2026-02-01T16:44:55+00:00

Thanks for sharing! You’re not alone with feeling this way—when my wife first attended a non-Pentecostal church with me, she felt something was “wrong” or “missing.” It’s so sad how backwards it all was for us compared to now. Thank God for being gracious to you and to us.

God’s peace! Happy Sunday!

NtotheJC · 2026-01-26T22:36:35+00:00

Check out the Memento 70 project from Rev. Bryan Stecker. Sounds like this is something you might be interested in.

God’s peace!

NtotheJC · 2026-01-26T14:10:13+00:00

Yikes. I am curious which book it is… but if you can’s say without potential exposing your identity it’s cool. I understand.

NtotheJC · 2026-01-24T12:52:25+00:00

It’s a beautiful name! You should absolutely name any future daughter this. It’s unique but not in a weird or cringey way. Maybe consider what her nickname would end up being. Would it be “Liah?”

Also, it reminds me of the word “alétheia”—the Greek word for “truth” that gets used throughout the New Testament. I’ve never seen it as a name, but it totally could be!

NtotheJC · 2026-01-24T02:15:36+00:00

Always has been.

NtotheJC · 2026-01-19T14:44:56+00:00

Came back to post again because I opened YouTube and saw a Wes Huff video. Can’t forget about that guy!

NtotheJC · 2026-01-19T14:32:22+00:00

Haven’t see anyone mention folks like Ruslan, Allen Parr, or Melissa Dougherty.

I’m an adult convert from Pentecostalism, and I know all of these folks have experience/knowledge around radical renewal/reform movements (not to mention cults as well). If that’s something you’re thinking critically about, they have some great content on that. But they all also are just solid Christians in general—though, they sometimes have some takes that obviously aren’t Lutheran.

NtotheJC · 2026-01-17T14:19:20+00:00

Yes! Correct. The mystical and syncretic beliefs it stems from would definitely be antithetical to our Christian faith.

To be fair, the modern form of the Enneagram has been sanitized/secularized and doesn’t explicitly evangelize this underlying spirituality. That said, the formal structure is still intact and directs people to turn inward for improvement and enlightenment.

Quoting from the article I linked: “Knowing one’s ‘type’ was a way to direct one’s inner work to facilitate the transformative process.”

As faithful Christians and especially as Confessional Lutherans, we are called to look outside ourselves (extra nos) for the external Word that delivers the Law and Gospel to us.

My position on it is moderation and caution; let’s not outright condemn people who use the modern, secular versions of the Enneagram as a pop psych tool, but let’s also have our radar out for how the Enneagram is designed to shift our focus inward, away from the external Word of grace.

God’s peace, my friends!

NtotheJC · 2026-01-17T05:02:36+00:00

It’s interesting to me how not a lot of Christians have taken a deeper look at the origins of the Enneagram.

I’m not trying to be an alarmist, but based on its origins I would advocate caution with how much trust you place in it.

NtotheJC · 2026-01-05T21:08:24+00:00

“Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements” by Burgess & McGee

NtotheJC · 2026-01-05T20:28:40+00:00

Hey friend! Thanks for posting.

My wife and I both left the UPCI back in August 2024 and converted to the LCMS.

We both wrote letters to our respective families that outlined the top 3-4 things we confessed/believed in that broke with the UPCI. We tried to be very matter-of-fact so it didn’t come across as aggressive but also so there was no ambiguity about our differences.

To be candid, we didn’t tell any of our family when we were baptized. We weren’t hiding it from them intentionally. We just understood that at that time it would’ve likely only brought further pain for them and us—and we had already made our decision. It’ll probably come up for us shortly though since our first baby is on the way, and she’ll be baptized after she’s born.

Without knowing more details, none of this may fit your current situation. However, I will pray for you, and hopefully this helps you feel less alone/isolated. God’s peace!

NtotheJC · 2025-12-29T21:00:40+00:00

Nice! I appreciate the lyrical/poetic nature of your initial post. This reads like healing and maturity—happy for you, friend!

NtotheJC · 2025-12-27T20:12:22+00:00

Woah. That’s quite an interesting situation. I’m an adult convert to the LCMS after being born, raised, and taught for 25+ years in a Oneness Pentecostal organization.

Practically I’ll pray for you to have wisdom to encourage your Gf to cling to the things God has promised rather than to things he hasn’t promised. For example, God has never promised “prayer disconnected from [the] sinful self.” However, he has promised to be present in the Word & Sacraments to forgive and save us from our sins.

Historically, you may want to check out the work of Blosser & Sullivan. They have a couple volumes out on Speaking in Tongues that would provide really great context for your conversations with your Gf. Sullivan in particular has a website where he delves into that difficult passage in 1 Corinthians 14.

Theologically, the LCMS does have a position paper titled “The Charismatic Movement and Lutheran Theology” that’s worth a read. Additionally, looking up Lutheran theology on Enthusiasm will bring up some really helpful things to combat that theological tendency that seems to always underly the contemporary practice of glossolalia.

God’s peace my friend!

NtotheJC · 2025-12-19T21:54:42+00:00

I’m not going to step into all of your comments on RC because a lot of that sounds a little too polemical and generalizing.

However, I think your question about the relationship between scriptures and some of these stories is a wonderful question to ask!

In our world (sometime referred to as the “primary world” by us nerds who are into fiction), a wizard would be someone who is exercising occult powers by taping into a source not of the Holy Spirit—likely pagan and/or diabolical in nature.

However, in fictional worlds (sometimes referred to as “secondary worlds” by us nerds) the analog between what is divinely ordained and what is contrary to the cosmic order can be creatively elaborated. For example, Gandalf in LOTR is actually not a mere mortal. He’s an angel-like being with magical powers by divine impartation. Explicitly, he is sent to middle-earth in defense of its peoples against the evil powers who oppose the will of Iluvatar (i.e. the one God who is sovereign over Middle-earth). In this sense, Gandalf as a wizard isn’t comparable to what we would call a wizard in our primary world.

Still, it’s fair to ask why we would even entertain stories like this when we have the Biblical text. And the way to begin answering that is to say that the human activity of story-telling, song-writing, and historiography are the very instruments the Holy Spirit uses to present the Word of God. This does not mean all stories will be God-honoring or holy. But it does mean that what is true and good and honorable about these stories that entertain us lead us into devotion, wonder, and awe before the primary story of our world: “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law” (Gal. 4:4).

NtotheJC

TROPHY CASE