So I recently lost my job, I didn't get an actual pink slip though.  One of my favorite books (and it should be yours too!) is "Getting Fired for the Glory of God: Collected Words of Mike Yaconelli for Youth Workers".  I've got to be honest, I've always felt a little bit of shame that I had never been radical enough to be fired.  I'm sure if Jesus worked in many of our churches He wouldn't have lasted very long before being let go.  There is some shame in being fired (or "released" or "given the opportunity to follow other ministry goals") but at the same time, I'm proud of the work I've done and there is a part of me that feels I've attained something special, I believe I have been fired for the glory of God.  So this is getting dangerously close to a serious post and it's Friday so let's switch gears.
     There's an old saying in youth ministry (I think I hear it most often from Tic Long and Mark Oesteicher) that if there isn't a rule in your church because of you, you're not doing your job.  Now I'm not saying you should just go out and do stupid stuff just so you can claim there is a rule in your honour, but if you are being your wild and wacky youth pastor self, there's a good chance you'll have the senior pastor, custodian and chairman of the board coming into your office at some asking how chocolate pudding got on the ceiling of the gym or telling you they have no idea where Senior Pastor's garden gnomes are but they'd better be returned within 24 hours.
     A good friend of mine informed me that there is a new rule in place at his church because of him, they are no longer allowed to sled or snowboard off the roof of the church.  In my last church, we are no longer allowed to use duct tape to tape up tarps around the gym to turn it into an indoor water park.  Another friend said they are no longer allowed to use the baptismal tank for hot tub parties.
     There's a delicate balance between having a youth ministry that is nothing but fun and a ministry that doesn't have enough fun.  I removed "fun" for a while from our youth ministry.  I'm not a big fan of games nights and big events, but I really began to miss just playing together.  I think it's important that we do big things that are memorable.  Not every night has to be a huge event that everyone is facebooking and tweeting as soon as they get home, but after I took the fun events off our calendar for a few months I looked back and thought we had no great stories to tell.  There were no, "you had to be there!" moments.  Nothing specific that our kids could look back on and say, "that was awesome!"  We returned the fun and we have more stories and we built great memories.  We played together and built stronger relationships. 
     So what have been some of your groups' most memorable moments?  Was it the time you nearly had your jugular cut playing a game of "Deadly Shingles" or when you won a game of "Don't Flinch No Matter What"?  Is there a rule in your church just because of you?  I'd love to hear your stories!