Storms are brewing and we’re on Amber Alert today – in more ways than one. In a sort-of continuation of yesterday’s rant, I really believe that we’re at a critical point in Northern Ireland. Do we believe the naysayers and sink back into the rhythm of stuck in-a-rut, or are we going to take this God-given chance to build a new Northern Ireland in Titanic year?  (Follow this link to the latest news – but make sure you take the time to watch the accompanying videoclip of the interview with Mike Smyth – he’s a new Dock hero!)

All thoughts going through my head as I attended a fantastic event at the TQ campus of Belfast Met this morning: the opening of their ‘faith room’.  Now obviously I’m excited and hugely encouraged that the Met have been bold enough to include a faith room in their new campus, and it’s a gorgeous, cosy space.

But what excited me even more was to see the context in which that room exists. Faith isnt just hidden in a room in the Met; it’s woven throughout the whole ethos of the place. The staff have faith in the students. The students have faith in the future. The college authorities have faith that these extraordinary facilities will inspire extraordinary people.

And their faith is being rewarded: a few days ago I was in the Met wearing my ‘Titanic Ambassador’ hat (not an actual literal hat you understand), taking part in a Christmas Fair where students were showcasing their talent and training, from cupcake-making to T-shirt printing to dance and drama. Alan Sugar would be proud of this lot – they are dreaming big, investing and inventing, and they’re about to graduate into a Northern Ireland that should be ready for all their drive and creativity.

But is it? As the generation above, are we modelling a world where it’s good to try, where risk is encouraged, where entrepreneurs and creatives and fresh thinkers can thrive and breathe? Or are we clinging to a culture of defeatism?  I sometimes think that in Belfast we’d really rather say “I told you so” about a failure than “Wasn’t that great?” about a success.  Aren’t we sick of that kind of doom and gloom?

Jesus told a story – sometimes called the Parable of the Talents – about a fierce businessman (imagine Lord Sugar in the role if it helps…) who gives, respectively, 5, 2 and 1 ‘talents’ (about 20 years’ slave-wages) to his servants before leaving for a journey.  The industrious young apprentices who take risks, dare, take chances and double their 5 and 2 talent investments are rewarded with more; the risk-averse servant who buries his single talent gets chewed-up and spat-out in spectacular style.

Two thousand years later, Jesus still cuts to the heart of things.  Look at all the “talents” we have: those Met students, top-class graduates, our Titanic heritage, the amazing new visitor centre, movie studios, world-class industry, a beautiful country, fantastic people, the Giant’s Causeway, Whitepark Bay, the Mourne Mountains, the Peace Bridge, Victoria Square, St George’s Market… man alive!  Do I need to go on?  How can we hide?  How can we keep downcast eyes?  How can we keep talking and complaining and ‘auditing’ ourselves into inactivity?   C’mon!