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Endeavor Academy

A spiritual enclave dedicated to enlightenment through “A Course in Miracles.”

What Is Endeavor Academy?

Endeavor Academy is a spiritual community and self-described “international school of enlightenment” founded in 1992 by Charles Buell Anderson (c. 1926–2008) in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, USA. Legally incorporated as the New Christian Church of Full Endeavor, the organization is built almost entirely around the teachings of A Course in Miracles (ACIM) — scribed between 1965 and 1972 by psychologist Helen Schucman and first published in 1975. The Academy also draws from the New Testament, various world religious traditions, and even Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) literature.

Its stated mission was to give students “a universal experience of oneness that is ideally the goal of every spiritual tradition,” with its Academy Journal describing itself as “an intensive encounter with Singular Reality and a forum for the complete transformation to enlightenment that is the inevitable destiny of mankind.”

Over the years, Endeavor Academy attracted hundreds of full-time residents, established international affiliate centers, and became one of the most visible — and most controversial — communities built around ACIM. It has also attracted sustained scrutiny from the journalists, and former members who allege serious psychological, financial, and physical abuse.

The Founder: Charles Buell Anderson

Background and Early Life

Charles Buell Anderson was born around 1926 and worked for much of his adult life as a real estate broker in Chicago. He was a self-described recovered alcoholic who participated in AA for many years — an influence that would later shape the structure and culture of his spiritual community.

Anderson described his path to spiritual leadership as beginning with a “spontaneous awakening” in 1979, which he claimed was a profound mystical experience. He said his body had been “gutted” and he was “inserted by brothers from out of time.” He later connected this experience to two earlier events that he considered formative: his service in World War II, during which he was present in Nagasaki, Japan, and a personal near-death-like crisis that preceded his sobriety.

Around 1982, Anderson encountered A Course in Miracles, and the text became central to his teachings, as he believed it explained and validated what had happened to him spiritually.

From “God’s Country Place” to Endeavor Academy

In 1991, Anderson registered his fledgling organization in Reedsburg, Wisconsin under the name “God’s Country Place” (GCP). Initially a tiny group of around four followers, it grew rapidly — by October 1991, approximately 70 people were living there, many drawn from an ACIM study group in Denver, Colorado.

In 1992, the organization was re-registered under the names Endeavor Academy and New Christian Church of Full Endeavor, and the GCP name was retired. The headquarters moved to a converted summer resort facility in the Wisconsin Dells — a bustling tourist area in central Wisconsin. By 1999, the community had grown to house approximately 500 full-time residents.

Teachings and Practices

A Course in Miracles as the Primary Text

A Course in Miracles (ACIM) is a three-volume spiritual curriculum comprising a Text, a Workbook for Students, and a Manual for Teachers. It presents a non-dualistic worldview rooted in Christian metaphysics, asserting that the physical world is an illusion and that the purpose of human life is the undoing of the ego through forgiveness and love. The Foundation for Inner Peace (FIP) originally held the copyright to ACIM and was responsible for its publication.

Anderson taught that ACIM was a contemporary restatement of the teachings of Jesus Christ and organized daily group study sessions around it. The New Christian Church of Full Endeavor positioned ACIM as its central scripture, stating that “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.”

Daily Life at the Academy

Teaching sessions were provided to students daily, seven days a week. Introductory sessions for the public were held every Sunday. The curriculum was supplemented by videos of Anderson lecturing, drawn from biblical texts, ACIM, and various scientific journals that he found spiritually meaningful. Students referred to meditation-like group exercises as “sessions” or “light intensives” — hours-long practices that followers said produced euphoric, altered states of consciousness.

The Academy also extended its reach through outreach programs. Its Miracles Prisoner Ministry offered 12-step programming to inmates in Wisconsin, partnering with organizations such as the Christian Association for Prison Aftercare, the Wisconsin Network for Peace & Justice, and Madison-area Urban Ministry.

International Reach

At its peak, Endeavor Academy maintained affiliate centers in Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Mexico. Teachers from the Academy represented ACIM at the 2000 Millennium World Peace Summit at the United Nations in New York City and at the 2004 Parliament of World Religions in Barcelona, Spain. In 2009, the Academy’s documentary was screened at the Parliament of World Religions in Melbourne, Australia.

The community’s Australian branch, based in Byron Bay, became particularly active — and particularly controversial.

The ACIM Copyright Battle

One of Endeavor Academy’s most consequential actions was its legal battle over ACIM’s copyright. In 1998, the Foundation for Inner Peace (FIP) — the original publisher — had transferred all copyrights and service marks to its sister organization, the Foundation for A Course in Miracles (FACIM), led by Kenneth Wapnick. The copyright litigation against Endeavor Academy had in fact been initiated two years earlier, in 1996, when Penguin Books — which held a publishing licence from FIP — filed the original lawsuit. FIP and FACIM subsequently joined the action as co-plaintiffs. An initial ruling in October 2003 found that ACIM had been distributed prior to publication, rendering the original copyright invalid. The ruling was finalized in May 2004, at which point the first published edition of ACIM permanently entered the public domain.

As part of the litigation, two earlier manuscript versions of ACIM — the Urtext and the Hugh Lynn Cayce edition — surfaced publicly. However, these were not declared public domain by the court; the judge determined they fell outside the scope of FACIM’s copyright claim, and the Foundation retained its copyright over them. The US Trademark Office subsequently canceled both the servicemark on “A Course in Miracles” and the trademark on the acronym “ACIM” in 2005. The Academy went on to publish its own edition of ACIM, titled “The Advent of a Great Awakening,” which became available through major book retailers.

Cult Allegations and Controversies

While the Academy presented itself as a legitimate school of spiritual enlightenment, it attracted sustained and serious criticism from former members, cult experts, journalists, and mental health professionals. The controversy became national news in 1999 when CBS News aired a 48 Hours investigative report titled “The Academy: Miracle or Cult?”

Anderson as “Master Teacher”

Within the community, Charles Anderson was not called by his name but was referred to exclusively as “Master Teacher” (MT) — a title that critics noted was parallel to the honorific “Dear One” used by the leadership of North Korea. Anderson made extraordinary claims about his spiritual status. He declared himself “the only living son of God” and, at various points, compared himself favorably to Jesus Christ — with some followers reportedly believing he surpassed Christ in spiritual authority.

Anderson claimed he could physically leave for heaven at any moment. In his CBS interview, he stated: “I’m leaving here shortly. I’m going back to heaven. I can leave for heaven at this instant.” He also claimed the power to heal. Despite these messianic claims, Anderson had no formal theological training and a background primarily in real estate and AA sponsorship.

Totalitarian Control Over Members’ Lives

Rick Ross, who reviewed hours of Anderson’s videotaped lectures and the Academy’s teaching materials for the CBS investigation, concluded that the organization displayed the hallmarks of a destructive cult. He stated that Anderson “consciously feels that he must control and dominate the thinking of the individuals who follow him” and that the Academy’s message was filled with “psychobabble and pseudo-science.” Ross also warned that Anderson’s level of authority over followers carried the same risk profile as Marshall Applewhite of Heaven’s Gate.

Former members corroborated these concerns. At the Academy, virtually all decisions were made by Anderson, and members were expected to defer to his authority entirely. Students reported that questioning the logic of Anderson’s teachings was discouraged with phrases such as “it is not what he is saying that is important — it is the experience of being in his presence.” Anderson reportedly invented idiosyncratic language that made following his lectures difficult, which critics argued served to deepen psychological dependency on his interpretation.

Former members also reported that Anderson taught that people who still “loved the world” or were “too happy” could not achieve enlightenment — that one had to “hate the world” in order to leave it. He reportedly told followers: “If you don’t live at Endeavor Academy, you are a ‘dead one.'” This us-versus-them worldview — dividing reality into “awakened ones” at EA and “sleeping ones” outside it — is a recognized hallmark of high-control group dynamics.

Financial Exploitation

Multiple former members reported significant financial sacrifice as a condition of community membership. Members were expected to sell their homes, businesses, and possessions and donate the proceeds to the Academy. Ian Hamilton, an Australian member for five years who later became one of the Academy’s most prominent critics and wrote the book Awake Among the Sleeping, reported donating approximately $20,000 of personal funds to the group. He and his wife sold their restaurant chain and nearly all of their assets before moving from Byron Bay to the Wisconsin compound. Hamilton’s 25-year marriage also crumbled during his time at the Academy, which he attributed to the community’s insistence that members redirect all emotional energy toward God and Anderson, rather than toward their spouses or families.

Allegations of Physical and Sexual Abuse

Some of the most troubling allegations against Anderson involved physical and sexual misconduct. Multiple former members and critics alleged that Anderson physically struck followers and engaged in repeated sexual harassment, including touching women on their bodies in group settings. One former member described witnessing Anderson “molesting women on so many occasions I can’t count them, he is not subtle about it either.” These behaviors were reportedly rationalized by inner-circle members as spiritual “shocks” designed to jolt followers out of their unconscious states.

Families of members filed complaints with CultNews comparing Anderson’s “mind training” techniques to brainwashing. The organization received additional scrutiny when the Academy was linked to at least one suicide in Australia, and former members reported that a “disturbingly high number” of Academy inmates had ended up in psychiatric care, attempted suicide, or died by suicide.

The CBS 48 Hours Broadcast and Its Aftermath

The December 1999 CBS 48 Hours segment was a turning point in the Academy’s public reputation. The broadcast featured both supportive members — including a Harvard-educated physician and his psychotherapist wife who had left their careers and Victorian home to join — and critical voices, including Ian Hamilton and Rick Ross. Anderson himself appeared on camera, during which he infamously lost his temper — an episode that critics argued undermined his persona as an enlightened spiritual leader.

In the aftermath of the broadcast, the Academy’s then-Board Chairman, James Corona, was accused of writing a defamatory letter to CBS in an attempt to discredit Hamilton, including false allegations that he was mentally unbalanced and responsible for a suicide attempt. Observers noted the tactic bore resemblance to those employed by Scientology.

The Documentary: A Course in Miracles Unleashed

In late 2006, two students of the Academy — film director Jubi Onyeama and producer Cameron Kennedy — began filming a documentary about the community. Over approximately two years and more than 200 hours of footage, they interviewed around 120 students, as well as teachers from affiliated European centers. The resulting four-part documentary, “A Course in Miracles Unleashed,” was released on Labor Day 2008, with its premiere at Sundance Cinema in Madison, Wisconsin. Within its first year, the film was subtitled in Dutch, German, Polish, Spanish, and Swedish, and was screened at the Parliament of World Religions 2009 in Melbourne.

After Anderson’s Death

Charles Buell Anderson died on May 13, 2008, reportedly while watching television at the age of approximately 83. The Academy made no official announcement of his death on its website or affiliated sites. His followers, who considered death a “transition,” appeared to struggle with the loss.

Observers noted that groups organized around a single charismatic living leader — a structural feature common to high-control religious groups — frequently collapse following the death of that leader. The current status and leadership structure of Endeavor Academy remain unclear, though affiliated centers and instructional materials continued to be active in the years following Anderson’s passing.

Endeavor Academy and A Course in Miracles: An Important Distinction

It is important to note that A Course in Miracles itself — as a spiritual text — is widely studied by individuals and groups worldwide who have no connection to Endeavor Academy and who strongly dispute Anderson’s interpretation of its teachings. Critics within the ACIM community have argued that Anderson’s teachings directly contradicted the Course’s core principles. For example, ACIM teaches that “error” in others should be looked past rather than confronted — whereas confrontation was reportedly a central disciplinary tool at the Academy. The Course also teaches universal love rather than the elitist separation between “alive ones” and “dead ones” that Anderson reportedly promoted.

The Foundation for Inner Peace, the original publisher of ACIM, remains a separate entity with no affiliation to Endeavor Academy.

Conclusion

Endeavor Academy stands as one of the most studied and most controversial communities to emerge from the A Course in Miracles movement. Founded in 1992 by Charles Buell Anderson, it grew from a handful of followers in rural Wisconsin into an international community with hundreds of full-time residents and affiliate centers across multiple continents. Its legal victory in voiding FIP’s ACIM copyright had lasting consequences for how the text is distributed globally.

Frequently Asked Questions About Endeavor Academy

  • Q: Is Endeavor Academy a religious organization?
    • A: Endeavor Academy is a spiritual, not religious, community. While A Course in Miracles uses Christian language, it is presented as a universal path applicable to people of all backgrounds.
  • Q: Do I need prior ACIM experience to visit?
    • A: No prior experience is necessary. Many students encounter A Course in Miracles for the first time at Endeavor Academy.
  • Q: Who founded Endeavor Academy?
    • A: Endeavor Academy was founded by Charles Buell Anderson in 1992.
  • Q: Where is Endeavor Academy located?
    • A: Endeavor Academy is located in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, USA.
  • Q: What makes Endeavor Academy different from other ACIM groups?
    • A: Its full-time, residential model sets it apart. Endeavor Academy treats community life itself as the context for applying ACIM’s principles, going far beyond periodic study groups or online courses.

Sources

image via Wikimedia Commons

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