Learning across churches and cultures: Rev. Dr Manhong Lin on the Bossey experience

Learning across churches and cultures: Rev. Dr Manhong Lin on the Bossey experience

msc

Wed, 09/23/2026 - 19:37

For Rev. Dr. Manhong Lin, Bossey was more than a place of study. The General Secretary of the China Christian Council and Professor and Doctoral Advisor of Christian Ethics, Nanjing Union Theological Seminary, reflects on what she valued about her experience—and why Bossey still matters today.

Image

Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC

Looking back, what is one experience or lesson from Bossey that has had the greatest impact on your personal, academic, or ministry journey?

Dr. Lin: I studied at Bossey in 1997. Back then, the Bossey curriculum differed considerably from what it is today. We were split into four seminar groups, each supervised by a different professor, and we shared reflections on assigned readings nearly every day.

Beyond these daily seminars, the main academic assignment we completed was an essay reflecting on the theme of the Gospel and culture from our own contextual perspectives.

Working on this paper marked several firsts for me. It was the first time I had engaged with such a large volume of…