Shannan Baker, Ph.D.
Senior Associate for Contemporary Worship Programs
- Waco TX UNITED STATES
Endeavors to find ways to connect contemporary worship research with the practice of the church.
Media
Biography
Dr. Baker endeavors to find ways to connect contemporary worship research with the practice of the church. Primarily, this has occurred through the creation of contemporary worship workshops where students are encouraged to connect their classroom learning with practical applications in a band-led worship style. Dr. Baker has experience playing multiple instruments, including drums (her emphasis for her BA), piano/keys, acoustic guitar, and bass guitar, which allows her to communicate with the various band members. Dr. Baker is a Michigan native, who now lives in Waco and serves the local church through the many gifts with which God has blessed her.
Areas of Expertise
Accomplishments
Fundamentals of Data Research Fellowship
2021
Baylor University Libraries
Completion of the Teaching Capstone in Higher Education (TeaCHE)
2021
Baylor University
Outstanding Dissertation Award (Humanities)
2022
Baylor University
Education
Baylor University
Ph.D.
Church Music
2022
Calvin Theological Seminary
Th.M.,
2019
Calvin Theological Seminary
M.A.
Worship
2018
Cornerstone University
B.A.
Music (Worship Arts)
2016
Affiliations
- Worship Leader Research
- Society for Christian Scholarship in Music
Media Appearances
Christian music surges into the mainstream, fueled by young streamers
The Washington Times online
2025-07-29
“The young people that I work with are looking for music they can connect with,” Shannan Baker, senior associate for contemporary worship programs at Baylor University, told The Washington Times. “Connection can happen through relating to an experience that is referenced in the lyrics or resonating with the truths of the song’s message.”
New song resurrects the world’s oldest known hymn
Anabaptist World online
2025-04-23
Shannan Baker, a postdoctoral fellow at the Dunn Center for Christian Music Studies at Baylor University, said the new hymn is different from some of the other work Tomlin and Fielding have done. Tomlin is best known for songs such as “How Great Is Our God” and “Good, Good Father,” while Fielding co-wrote “Mighty to Save” and “What a Beautiful Name” for Hillsong, the Australian megachurch.
Baylor University Awarded Second $1 Million Lilly Endowment Inc. Grant To Expand Youth Worship Initiative
Baylor University online
2024-04-24
“Our previous grant focused on equipping students and sending them back to their local context. This new grant allows us to engage with our church partners at the local level,” Baker said. “The new grant has two main partner types—model churches and growth churches. Our goal is to identify what is working well for youth worship bands to create models for youth worship ministry. We want to find ways to scale and adapt those models to address challenges in other contexts that are seeking to grow and develop their programs.”
Dr. Shannan Baker: Worship Leader Research Miniseries pt. 1!
The Worship Nerds Podcast online
2023-12-20
My fellow Worship Leader Research teammate Dr. Shannan Baker takes a minute to chat about the WLR project, her hopes as a researcher, and what animates her ongoing care for the contemporary worship phenomenon as a researcher.
Musical, Theological & Commercial Shifts in Worship Songs with Dr. Shannan Baker
Worship Theology Podcast online
2023-11-08
How has worship music shifted in the last ten years in the USA?
Join Dr. Jeremy Perigo as he hosts Dr. Shannan Baker, a Postdoctoral Fellow in Music and Digital Humanities at Baylor University. Their discussion focuses on the musical, theological, and market shifts of CCLI's Top 25 songs from 2010-2020.
Topics include lyrical theology, Trinitarian worship, the rise of collaborations, different types of adlibs, increases in repetitive bridges and tags, and a few rounds of “Which CCLI song would you use.”
Almost All Top-25 Worships Songs Are Linked to 5 Megachurches
Beliefnet online
2023-08-31
Shannon Baker, a postdoctoral fellow in music and digital humanities with Baylor University who helped with the findings, told The Christian Post that the study hoped to answer who the leading players are in contemporary Christian music. She said in an interview that the other part of the study was how worship leaders engage the landscape and environment. She asked how they interact with prominent artists and the songs they’re releasing. Also, how do worship leaders engage with contemporary worship music?
Few Worship Leaders Avoid Hillsong, Bethel Songs — Despite Controversies and Scandal
MinistryWatch online
2023-07-12
Still, it’s more likely that worship songwriters are writing from personal experience than from trying to communicate theological principles, said research team member Shannan Baker, a postdoctoral fellow at Baylor University. That’s in part because it would be easy to get things wrong by using the wrong phrase or word.
The Megachurch Worship Monopoly, Part II
The Roys Report Podcast online
2023-06-05
Now, the two study collaborators, Elias Dummer and Dr. Shannan Baker, join me for part two, where we discuss the scandals at these incredibly influential megachurches and implications of using their creative content. Elias is a singer/songwriter who’s also worked in marketing and research. And Shannan is a post-doctoral research fellow at Baylor University, who’s studying contemporary worship. So, they know this subject matter extremely well and were able to provide valuable insights.
Our Worship Is Turning Praise into Secular Profit
Christianity Today online
2023-04-19
Songwriters and worship artists “love the church and want to provide songs that serve the church,” said Shannan Baker, a postdoctoral fellow in digital humanities at Baylor University’s Center for Christian Music Studies. But today’s top worship artists and songwriters face these intensified market pressures.
There's a reason every hit worship song sounds the same
Religion News online
2023-04-11
Shannan Baker, a postdoctoral fellow at Baylor University, said the megachurch worship teams in the study also popularized songs from other artists, such as “Way Maker,” a song written by Sinach, a well-known Nigerian musician, as well as “Great Are You Lord” and “Tremble.”
Research Grants
Vital Worship Teacher-Scholar Grant
Calvin Institute for Christian Worship
The Worship Lab Initiative
Lilly Endowment Inc. Grant
2024
Articles
Chapter 10: “There is a Cloud”: The Holy Spirit in Contemporary Worship Songs
The Spirit and the Song: Pneumatological Reflections on Popular Music2024
“Do It Again”: Chart-Topping Worship Songs and the Churches Behind Them
Liturgy2023
Since the introduction and expansion of the internet, the number of songs available to worship leaders has grown exponentially. Though the “industry” as such was nascent in the 1970s, there existed already a few popular performing groups and non-church entities that functioned as primary sources and conduits for new songs such as the Scripture in Song series (by Dave and Dale Garrett), the Maranatha! Praise albums, and by the mid-1980s, Integrity’s Hosanna! Music tape series. In fact, several regional and para-church-type organizations were founded in the 1970s and 1980s to help collect and codify a core repertory of new songs from among the seemingly limitless number that were pouring out of Pentecostal-charismatic churches touched by the praise and worship movement and its emphasis on local songwriting.
A typology of ad-libbing: Performing authenticity in contemporary worship
Religions2023
Since 2010, the contemporary worship scene has changed. New prominent church bands have emerged and streaming services have made worship music more accessible. While solo worship artists such as Chris Tomlin and Tim Hughes primarily released studio albums in the 2000s, two new prominent collectives, Bethel Music and Elevation Worship, followed Hillsong and Passion in releasing live albums. These live tracks have heavily influenced the local congregation. One example of this influence is the performance practice of singing ad-libs. This article will first define ad-libs within the contemporary worship context and examine how ad-libs provide authenticity to worship leaders. Then, it will explain how this performance practice moved from worship artists to local church vocalists. Finally, the article will conclude with a new typology for identifying and analyzing ad-libs in contemporary worship.
"Seas of crimson": A biblical analysis of elemental imagery in Bethel music's lyrics
Journal of Contemporary Ministry2022
Bethel Church, a Charismatic Pentecostal megachurch in California, houses one of the world's most influential worship music artists. In January 2021, the church's label, Bethel Music Publishing, accounted for over 20% of the Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI) Top 100 list. Because of Bethel's considerable influence, it is important to examine the lyrics of their songs. Contemporary worship songs, especially those emerging from the Charismatic Pentecostal movement, are well-known for including elemental imagery (e.g., fire and water) within their lyrics. This research examines Bethel Music's English lyrics over the past decade for elemental imagery.
The musical rhetoric of charismatic revival: continuity and change in the songs of the Toronto Blessing and Bethel Church
Journal of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity2022
Renewal movements like the Toronto Blessing and the signature form of ‘encounter’ offered at Bethel Church influence Pentecostal practice worldwide. Songs from these movements reverberate widely, serving as portable practices that help to carry the message and experience of renewal to new settings. Increasingly, scholars are paying attention to song lyrics as sources of Pentecostal theologies; likewise, ethnographic accounts have provided key insights into how the activity of singing during renewal worship shapes participants’ experience. What is often missing from scholarly accounts, however, are the songs themselves; in other words, the irreducible textual-musical units that display integrity across performance contexts.
The Worship Pastor: A Call to Ministry for Worship Leaders and Teams
Calvin Theological Journal2018