The Upper Room Academy for Spiritual Formation

10/13/2026

On the newest episode of The Academy Podcast, host Shalom Agtarap talks with pastor, spiritual director, and Academy Advisory Board member Rev. Rubén Ortiz about belonging, resistance, and the Body of Christ in every culture and language.

Rubén came to The Academy in 2004 during a ministry crisis, when he was “doing the job but not being the person.” He talks about how silence, Centering Prayer, the daily office, and a listening community reshaped his life. He also shares what keeps him grounded in a season of fear and mass deportations: his “bag of treasures,” which holds history, poetry, and less time with the news.

Together they talk about burnout in immigrant and Latino ministry, choosing resistance over resilience, the gift of a mother tongue, and The Academy as a place of radical hospitality where we can bring all that we are.

🎧 Listen at https://www.upperroom.org/academy/podcast, and on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.

09/08/2026

What if joy is more than a feeling—what if it’s a form of resistance?

In the latest episode of The Academy Podcast, host Shalom Agtarap sits down with pastor and Academy #44 faculty member Lisa Yebuah to explore joy, embodiment, imagination, and the practices that help us become fully alive.

Together, they reflect on joy as a source of spiritual resilience—an oasis that sustains us through suffering and helps us imagine a world marked by wholeness, liberation, and abundant life. 🎙️✨

Listen at https://www.upperroom.org/academy/podcast or wherever you get your podcasts 🙏

09/08/2026

In the September edition of The Academy Bulletin, Kevin Carter reflects on creating spaces where people feel seen, valued, loved, and welcomed. Plus, explore upcoming Academy opportunities, spiritual formation resources, the latest episode of The Academy Podcast, and more.

Read the September Bulletin below 🙏

This month, we hear from Kevin Carter , a devoted husband of 33 years, father of two, and proud grandfather of two, with another expected in 2027. Kevin has been part of The Academy for Spiritual Formation community since 2005. He is honored to serve on the Two-Year Academy for Spiritual Formation #...

08/31/2026

🙏 Listen to more from this month's podcast at https://www.upperroom.org/academy/podcast/ or wherever you get your podcasts.

08/27/2026

The Upper Room is honored to be part of a special issue of the Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care, bringing together historically prominent spiritual formation organizations and contemporary leaders in Christian spiritual formation.

In “For the Sake of the World,” Johnny Sears, Executive Director of The Upper Room Programs, and Lindsay Gray, Executive Director of The Upper Room Editions, reflect on The Upper Room’s history and evolution, its influence on the Protestant Spiritual Formation Movement, and the ways it continues to contribute to the work of spiritual formation today.

Read more about this special issue and The Upper Room’s contribution below 🙏

The Protestant Spiritual Formation Movement is an ongoing movement of God’s people seeking to faithfully respond...

08/11/2026

In this episode of The Academy Podcast, host Shalom Agtarap sits down with author, theologian, and Academy #44 faculty member Claire McKeever-Burgett to explore what it means to inhabit a spiritual life rooted in presence, connection, and the wisdom of the body.

Claire will join Academy #44 in session five next year, teaching on Spirituality & Embodiment.

Learn more and listen to this month's episode at https://www.upperroom.org/academy/podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. Now available on Spotify!

07/27/2026

What might happen if you made more room for God?

Academy #44 invites you into a two-year journey of prayer, learning, worship, reflection, and community through the Two-Year Academy for Spiritual Formation.

Come away from the demands of everyday life and discover a rhythm that creates space to listen, grow, and deepen your life with God.

Academy #44 begins this October. Learn more and apply today at Academy.UpperRoom.org/44.

Join the next

07/14/2026

"As followers of Jesus, our first allegiance is not to any nation, party, flag, or empire, but to the One who shows us the way of self-giving love, truth-telling mercy, and liberating peace."
—Johnny Sears

Read more in this month's Academy Bulletin below 🙏

Last month, my family took a sunset cruise around the Statue of Liberty. As the evening light settled over the harbor, I found myself moved by the beauty of that image and grieved by how far we have yet to live into the dream it represents. Inside the statue’s pedestal is a bronze plaque with a po...