NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ Christian singer Michael W. Smith says he wrote the song “Leave” out of concern for victims of bullying and abuse.

In a survey of 43,000 U.S. high school students by the Josephson Institute of Ethics, half said they had bullied someone in the past year, and nearly half said they were victims of bullying.

Michael W. Smith says he was personally moved by the suffering of a friend who was sexually abused in the church years ago.

Smith says he believes victims of abuse can only find fulfillment when they “invite God into the pain” so that they can forgive themselves and their abusers.