New Christian Church of Full Endeavor

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New Christian Church of Full Endeavor

During the 1980s, A Course in Miracles emerged as a text around which thousands of people found guidance for their spiritual life. While many simply read the text and integrated it into a previously existing metaphysical worldview already in large agreement with the teachings, many found in the text a new profound spiritual direction. Many found their participation primarily in weekly study groups and noted how helpful the Course insights were for their life. Others found in the Course the catalyst to completely reorient their life and perception. Among the latter are the members of the New Christian Church of Full Endeavor.

Catalyst for the coming together of the church in the 1980s is Chuck Anderson, today known as simply Master Teacher. He and the members found in the Course a restatement of the perennial philosophy, a mystical visionary worldview that has appeared in other times and places as, for example, advaita vedanta, Zen, or Taoism. The perennial philosophy recognizes a Divine Reality behind the visible world of sense experience (described by Vedantists as maya or illusion). In discovering that reality behind the illusion, humans discover their essence as equal to the Divine Reality and perceive that their highest purpose is in knowledge of that Ground of Being. They see in Master Teacher a person who facilitates the enlightenment of those around him.

The church teaches that A Course in Miracles is a contemporary restatement by Christ of the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Church members have come into an experience of the Divine Reality and are attempting to learn always with that reality and out of that reality. In the real world, fear and evil do not exist. In that reality love is perfected and joy established. They also believe that a process of transformation is going on in their lives and in the world. The keynote of that transformation is healing and forgiveness. That process will continue through their full endeavor.

The church is headquartered in Lake Delton, Wisconsin. Also established there is the Endeavor Academy, the church's educational arm, which offers a variety of courses drawing upon A Course in Miracles and the vast literature representative of the perennial philosophy. Located in a former resort hotel, it provides residential space for students who may come to the classes that are offered on a quarterly basis. The church and academy may be contacted at P.O. Box 206, Lake Delton, WI 53940. It has an Internet site at http://www.endeavoracademy.com/. Besides the center in Wisconsin, there are groups related to the church across North America and in Europe.

The church emerged in the very diverse environment of the movement built around A Course in Miracles. That movement has been seen as somewhat centered in the Foundation for Inner Peace, a corporation that owned the copyright of the Course and has been primarily responsible for its printing and distribution. The New Christian Church of Full Endeavor is one of several groups that have come into conflict with the foundation for reprinting sections of the Course as part of their effort to spread the message. They are currently in litigation with the foundation over their right to reprint the material. Part of the case hinges upon the claimed authorship of the Course, namely Christ, and whether a work by a Divine Being can be copyrighted under United States law.