I actually can say from what I've read (and being no fan of MKP at this point), that it does seem like individual local groups, and i-groups within them, seem to be pretty free to make adjustments as they like. This seems to hold up within MKPs own literature as well. Even the very detailed prescription for every action over the weekend has a few places where people can decide how they'd like to handle some things (e.g. the chicken). And there is a reference in this article:
Quote
http://mensstudies.wordpress.com/2008/07/05/mkp-survived/
Kauth was clearly the most important presence within MKP, but he believed strongly that the programs would only grow if managed under local leadership. While he, Tosi, and Hering had disproportionate control in the early years, they found ways to flatten the hierarchy as the organization expanded. What resulted was a presbyterian polity, something analogous to the United States government’s balance of powers. In 1991 the organization established a board consisting of one voting representative from each center. In 1993 an “executive training director” was appointed to ease the burden on local leaders, and after that numerous “chairs” were added as an executive branch. Certification of leaders was established, as was the writing of the “Governance and Council” guidelines. As one leader of the movement conceded, “To become bureaucratic is inevitable.” By creating a federation that governed both locally and nationally, the MKP adopted polity that had shown itself viable in America.
(Also don't miss the OT Robert Bly quote in this article too.)
Even within this local organization, things seem to vary widely. I've been talking, a LOT, to several of the men involved. When I discuss how upset I am with the process, the feeling of having secrets imposed on my marriage by my husband and this organization without my knowledge or acceptance, the sort of fumbling-16-year-old-boy ineptness of addressing the women who are these men's partners, I get very different responses from different men even within the same i-Group. Some minimize my concern, shrug and say, "It's just details." Others are quite defensive of the "sacred" nature. Still others say, "I think he should tell you, if it's causing you pain. It's just cooler if it's secret, it's not that big of a deal." I've gotten each of these responses from more than one man locally. (These last being my favorite.)
So all that is just to say that I do think that a great deal of the value or harm that comes with MKP is entirely about what those local men are like. The fact remains for me that I think an important part of my marriage is in the hands of people I've never even seen, much less know well at all.
Now we are discussing PIT training, and I have piles more to research tonight. >sigh<