Last week, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed the Reproductive Health Act into law, allowing women to abort their unborn babies up to birth.
The pro-abortion legislation received kudos from the pro-choice side of the aisle, while the pro-life community was in an uproar. Among those angry with the new law were many Christian leaders and worship singers, including Phil King of Gateway Worship in Texas.
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In response to the new abortion law, King recorded a song titled, “Not Forgotten,” in which he sings a tribute to the babies that have lost their lives through abortion.
The song is dedicated: “for the one whose song we won’t hear, for the one whose voice disappeared, for the melody held in your heart and for all of your dreams torn apart.”
He shared the song to Instagram on Sunday, and so far it has garnered a lot of positive support.
King spoke with Faithwire Monday, explaining the inspiration behind the song, the message he hopes to convey and the responses he has received so far.
King, who is a NxtGen worship pastor at Gateway, recorded “Not Forgotten” with his good friend and worship leader at Upper Room, Cody Ray Lee.
“Cody Ray Lee and Rita Springer also had some little tidbits of feedback on it to help shape the song and I am real grateful for their help,” he noted.
When asked what inspired him to write this song for the unborn, King explained, “I can’t tell you in words how heartbroken I was, how heartbroken I’ve been” when he hopped on social media January 22 to see the new law that had passed in New York.
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“Other than pray, the only thing I knew to do was sit down and write a song to pour out what I was feeling for all of those who have been lost to abortion,” he said.
“It’s still a very fresh song for me — I cried a lot while writing it and it happened real fast, I think in 30-45 minutes it was pretty much done. I don’t think I’ve cried that much while writing a song before,” King added.
He hopes that “Not Forgotten” will “bring the Church into even greater unity over the abortion issue.”
“I hope that it would become a declaration of God’s heart and our heart to this issue that would move us into action,” he said.
He added that he hopes the law is a wake-up call for the church to “begin to adopt and start saving lives like crazy, on a level we’ve never seen before,” adding that “God’s not short on resources for us to see this happen.”
“I daydream about things like this and how that kind of action from the Church would mark and change our culture so significantly,” he reflected. “I hope that every one of us who are believers that hear this message would be moved to help those lost in the midst of a situation where they feel cornered and forced to abort a child’s life.”
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The worship pastor has received an incredible amount of feedback, on social media and other platforms.
“The feedback has been insane,” he said. “To be honest I have never seen a reaction like this with any song I’ve ever written.”
“I’m getting so many messages from people that are thankful for the song and a few upset messages as well,” he noted.
He shared one message that he received from a person on Instagram, saying, “I think probably the most powerful one was this message here and for me, this is what it’s all about.”
The direct message read: “Part of my testimony that I share is that when I was 18 I had an abortion. I’ve been fighting so hard to see an end to abortion and bring healing to mothers since God met me and brought healing and joy back into my life.”
“I’ve tried to sit down and write a song for the last four years but it’s too hard to convey how I fell,” she wrote. “You did it perfectly thank you! I know every baby in Heaven is worshipping Jesus right now for the impact this song is going to make!”
You can watch the full music video here:
The full lyrics of “Not Forgotten” read:
For the one whose song we won’t hear
For the one whose voice disappeared
For the melody held in your heart
And for all of your dreams torn apartYou are not forgotten
We are fighting for you
We’ve answered your silent cry to be your voice
Your life was not for nothing
We celebrate your heart beat
The price that you paid is a fire that’ll change this worldWe can’t go on like it’s okay
Turn a blind eye and just look away
For the sake of all that’s pure and true
We will lay our lives down just for youJesus heal our land
You’re the answer, You’re the answer
We return our hearts to You
You’re the answerThey are not forgotten
We are fighting for them
We’ve answered their silent cry to be their voice
Their life was not for nothing
We celebrate their heart beat
The price that they paid is a fire that’ll change this world