The specific purpose of this corporation is to provide a catalyst for pastor couples to start a sabbatical and other pastor wellness opportunities.

A Seabatical is an excursion on a luxury yacht at sea, orchestrated to be a catalyst for a sabbatical. The intent is to immerse pastors and their spouses in a luxury environment at sea to provide an opportunity to disconnect from daily stresses, decompress, connect with God, and connect with each other while being in a pampered environment without distractions.

Birth of Seabaticals

Seabatical Charters was born from a weekend Warrior Retreat Alicia and I attended. During the Dream Master’s weekend, we were given time in solitude and together to be with God in His creation and hear His calling for our “kingdom significance”. It was during this time we realized that our time as Surface Warfare Officers in the Navy, my time as a Civil Engineer Corps Officer with the Seabees, our longing to be back on the ocean, and our heart for pastor couples were all God’s intention to prepare us to host pastor couples at sea so that they may rest and restore.

We believe a Seabatical experience will be a great launch to disconnect from the church and reconnect with God and their spouse.

The Program

During my career as a Surface Warfare Officer, I served as a Protestant Lay Leader, and the Senior Lay Leader for each ship. It was my job to coordinate with Chaplains to ensure the Commanding Officer had a healthy religious services program. When I transitioned to the Civil Engineer Corps, I would now be stationed with Chaplains and my Lay Leader duties were no longer required. That’s when God called me to be a Gideon. As I advanced through the ranks, I became the supervisor of Chaplains and found great joy connecting with the Chaplain and making sure they were well so they could provide services to the Seabees for their individual wellness and that of the whole command.

For those expeditionary Sailors that deployed into combat, the Navy created a Warrior Transition Program (WTP). This 4–5-day program was designed to exist in a non-combative environment and hosted by psychologists that would lead a short daily lecture topic and then be available for counseling as desired the rest of the day. It was a time of decompression – not being in imminent danger, not carrying a loaded weapon, not standing watches – decompressing and preparing to reintegrate in the society at home, and most importantly, our families.

This heart for pastors and chaplains, the clear need for wellness opportunities for pastors and their families, and the experiences of the Warrior Transition Program all come together as Alicia and I develop and launch Seabatical Charters.

Birth of a Partnership

As we were developing the program portion of the Seabatical, God led me to find Bill and Kristi Gaultierre’s Soul Shepherding Institute. As psychologists, and having served as a pastor couple, Bill and Kristi created this institute to coach pastor couples to care for their own soul, which includes sabbaticals. We are blessed to be partnered with Soul Shepherding’s own Pastor Sheridan McDaniel and his wife Larleslie who assists with leading the Seabatical Program and is available for coaching while underway.

Sea Trials

On July 19 th , 2023, we executed our first prototype run and in true naval fashion we labeled it our Seabatical “sea trials”. Our Seabatical “sea trials” began and ended in Marina Del Rey onboard the Admiral XL, a 125’ super yacht (https://www.admiralxl.com/). We were blessed to host four pastor couples with all expenses paid. The chartered excursion itinerary was as follows:

• 0 Hour: Board the Admiral XL

• 0+15m: Underway, snacks

• +2 Hours: Anchor at Paradise Cove

• TBD: Lunch

• +6 Hours: Underway

• +8 Hours: Dock and go ashore

While onboard, early in the excursion, we led a small 20-minute devotional that was designed to provide a seed for reflection throughout the day regarding their relationship with God and the purpose behind sabbaticals. We also recommended each person take time to experience a self-led observation exercise for 15 minutes:

• For 5 minutes, see God & the ocean. Write down what you observed: (God’s power, vastness of the sea, peace, grandeur)

• For 5 minutes, hear God & the ocean. Write down what you observed: (quiet, waves, peace, God’s whisper)

• For 5 minutes, smell God & the ocean. Write down what you observed: (ocean, oxygen, peace, pleasing scent for God)

We pray that these Seabaticals cast pastor couples into the restoration blessing God has called us to provide to those who shepherd His bride. “Create space and time to encounter the presence of God.” - Pastor Jude

Donations and Sponsorships

As a non-profit, Seabatical Charters will rely on donations and fees in order to sustain the operations charged by the mission.

The Seabatical is an all-inclusive experience which includes the yacht, crew, fuel, food, drinks, and water toys. Seabaticals are specifically designed in this way to ensure the pastor couple can focus on God, themselves, and their spouses. The luxury aspect is purposeful as we are all royalty by God’s grace as heirs in His kingdom. The elevated treatment is an environment in which we are giving the pastor couples approval to celebrate their calling, acknowledge His blessings, enjoy His creation, and recognize all God has done for them and through them. The cost will be covered by an application and registration fee by the pastor couple or their nominating church and fundraising through advertising and partnerships for rest of the cost.

The proposed application and registration fee comes from polling of several other non-profits that help pastors and others. It has been reported that the investment assists in preventing no-shows, but also adds a “buy-in” to the program to fully participate and be attentive.

Hopefully, the church will sponsor their pastor couple and cover this fee or donate more when able. This will also help the commitment of the church staff and congregation to permit the pastor to step away wholly for the event.

For fundraising, introductions have been made with other non-profits for pastors, authors, Soul Shepherding, and a network of Christian non-profits. The intent will be to connect with fellowships and conventions to partner with them for funds in support of their pastor couples. Advertising through yacht clubs and owners may also benefit greatly as donations will be tax write-offs and the funds will be spent in their industry to serve others.

Pastor Couple Eligibility

With each presentation of Seabatical Charters, immediate responses focus on the subject of “how to get my pastor” onboard. Interest is unlikely to be difficult to establish and the need is vast. The critical screening and selection of participants will need to be objective, transparent, repeatable, and defendable.

Eligibility requirements are faith-based and require declarations of evangelical or Protestant beliefs. What we believe:

• The Bible is the inspired Word of God as declared in 2 Timothy 3:16.

• Jesus Christ is the eternal son of God as proclaimed in John 3:16.

• The biblical standard of marriage is between one biological man and one biological female as stated in Matthew 19:4-6.