Katy's official website biography claims that her pictures will be the most likely to adorn the walls of young girls who adore her. (www.katyperry.com)
Katy's unsavoury themes, quirky fashion sense and antics are selling albums... millions of them.
A perhaps little known fact is that in 2001, as a fresh faced, bleached-blonde 16 year old, she debuted as a Christian artist, recording a remarkable track called "Faith Won't Fail" on her self titled album "Katy Hudson" (she is now known by her mother's maiden name, Perry).
It is a powerful song as she creates soulful tones and poignant lyrics. In spite of that, somewhere through the years following, Katy has chosen a different path. I observe that she had some setbacks from the music industry, with her Christian record label folding in 2001 and thus discontinuing the distribution and production of her album.
Her first conventional record label dropped her as she was attempting to break into the mainstream pop industry. Subsequently, Katy was recognised by Capitol Music who combined a calculated marketing blueprint with a talented and eccentric Perry.
These initial storms in her life, plus other personal matters, may have had the ingredients to cause her faith to waiver, and perhaps thwarted her spiritual growth. An interview with Perry at the age of 17 quoted her as saying: "The worst part of being 17 is that it's kind of in-between. You're not really sure what you're doing. At 18, you're legal and free. At 16, you're sweet and joy-some..... I'm going to be 18. I need to wise up and start acting like an adult." (GOstudents)
These days it seems her reputation is based on surrounding herself with controversial topics as well as on-and off-stage antics. I would suggest Katy has been drawn out to the world, doing life without God and quite possibly, her "Faith May Have Failed."
I have watched online interviews of Katy in which she is being questioned about her upbringing and her parents' (evangelical pastors) beliefs. She seems to genuinely carry a 'respect' for God. In an interview on the David Letterman Show, when Letterman asks about her Christian upbringing and wonders aloud if it is impossible to live one's life without having some of it still in one's heart, Katy replies "Of course! ... Just sometimes, the details change..."
As to what these details are, Katy appears to be keeping it close to her heart for now. Her private and public lifestyle, however, appears to be on show and in the media.
I can understand where Katy is coming from because, in the past, I have not been very good at having faith through the storms of life; perhaps because I did not know how to. The desire to have faith, the imprint on my heart of God's love for me and my awareness of that, seemed to be 'missing'.
I didn't have the tools, nor did I investigate how to get the tools to increase my faith. I thought myself unworthy and unable to turn to God, and perhaps I felt I couldn't trust Him. Life in the world appeared to offer freedom and fun.
In Matthew 12 Jesus speaks vividly in a parable about a lost sheep and how the Good Shepherd responds; if just one of them wanders away, the shepherd will leave the others and go to look for that one. And if he finds it, he is happy.
In the same way, our Father in heaven is not willing that any of the little ones should be lost: Katy Perry and myself included. God calls His people to Himself - and that was my story. Storm after storm hit and eventually I couldn't stand alone in yet another storm...
I came to a point where I gave up on my own path that always seemed to lead to frustration and despair and let God take it all. I relented in my quest to do life alone, by my own rules and by my own 'power'.
It was described to me in a message by Peter Shurley, Pastor of Life Christian Church in Tasmania, that to have faith you have to have faith IN something. For example, I have faith that my chair will hold me when I sit on it. Most of the time I don't even think about it, I just sit. Is your faith in yourself or in the chair?
Faith, I discovered, develops from first being obedient (willing to follow Jesus), and from that overflows faith as you realise that the object you have your faith in, is trustworthy and strong. Matthew 8:23 describes how Jesus fell asleep on the boat and a furious storm came upon the lake. Jesus was asleep, he wasn't disturbed.
He knew His Father would protect him. He knew through the storm, that God would prevail. The Disciples woke Jesus declaring for him to save them, as they feared drowning. Peter Shurley also explains "Faith is an attitude of trust in an object that allows the object to work on my behalf. It is never evidenced by what I do FOR the object. I am allowing the object to do something for me."
"Jesus got up and rebuked the storm. Then he asked the Disciples "Where is your faith?". He knew at that point that it wasn't in Him.
Jesus said "What I'm about to tell you is true. Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. In fact, he will do even greater things. That is because I am going to the Father." (John 14:12 New International Reader's Version)
I believe that Jesus came to put the world right, and anyone who trusts in him is acquitted if they believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.
Katy Perry is currently experiencing much success, wealth and an engagement. But I hope that in the future, when the storms of life hit, that God will become her object of Faith once again.