Every Culture, Every Language: Belonging, Resistance, and the Body of Christ with Rubén Ortiz

In this episode of The Academy Podcast, host Shalom Agtarap sits down with pastor, spiritual director, and Academy advisory board member Rubén Ortiz to explore rhythm, healing, resistance, and the presence of spiritual formation in every culture and language.

Rubén first encountered the Academy in 2004, in the middle of a ministry crisis, when he was “doing the job but not being the person.” He reflects on how the rhythms of The Academy, including silence, Centering Prayer, the daily office, and a community that listens, reshaped his life and ministry, even when that change came at a cost. As he often says, “Christ saved my life and The Academy saved my ministry.”

Drawing from his Cuban upbringing, his contemplative father, his grandmother’s rocking chair, and the witness of Howard Thurman, Rubén describes integrity as living a whole, undivided life. That means living the questions rather than clinging to certainties. He also shares how he stays grounded during a season of fear and mass deportations: limiting the news, turning to history, and finding refuge in poetry. He calls these practices his “bag of treasures.”

Together, Shalom and Rubén reflect on burnout in immigrant and Latino ministry contexts, choosing resistance over resilience, the gift of a mother tongue, and the spiritual borderlands young people inhabit today. Their conversation invites us to see The Academy as a space of radical hospitality and healing, where we can bring all that we are, be received in love, and return to the world more fully ourselves.

Rev. Rubén N. Ortiz, M.Div., is the Latino Field Ministries Coordinator for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF). He is a two-time immigrant: Cuba to Ecuador (1993) and Ecuador to USA (2000). With studies in music, communications, and theology, Rubén has served as a pastor for more than two decades as well as a Spiritual Director. He is often called upon as a consultant, advisor, and resource facilitator and is passionate about promoting the well-being of congregations and pastors. Rubén was a participant in Two-Year Academy #32 (a Spanish and English bilingual Academy) and is also part of the Academy Advisory Board. In his ministry with CBF, he works with Latino congregations and partners and provides leadership to FAMILIA, CBF’s Latino Network. Rubén and his wife, Xiomara, are “empty-nester” parents of Natalia Sofia and Daniel Andrés. 

Show Notes

Episode tracks: “Far Side of the Sea,” “Versailles,” and “Fearless” by Amy Stroup, used with permission.

Audio editing and production by Tim Savage.

A special thanks to the staff of The Upper Room, the Academy team, and everyone who helps bring this podcast to life.

For more information and resources, visit academy.upperroom.org/resources

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