Forest,
From your description, I'm confident that you weren't subjected to the new and improved version of the Walk that I attended. Also, as I mentioned, there is a routine turnover in Walk leadership that has the unfortunate consequence of creating inconsistency in the quality and maturity of the leadership team--and that can make all the difference. But this post has a different purpose than to defend the Walk. You seem reluctant to share your personal life with other believers. Is your reluctance only around strangers?
From the days of John Wesley to the early 1900s, you had to attend a weekly "class" to be a Methodist. In these classes, among other things, believers would do their best to share the outer and inner state of their soul; i. e., they would share their high and low points during the preceding week and would then make themselves vulnerable by sharing the patterns of their thought life. The result? A great Methodist revival! For example, in 1870 40% of all Americans were Methodists! (Notice that I didn't say 40% of all American Christians were Methodists.)
Then at the turn of the century, many Methodists were no longer willing to air their dirty linen in small groups. So Methodism made class meetings optional and in effect abolished them. The result? A slow, steady decline in American Methodism that continues today.
Jesus' brother James says: "Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed (James 5:16)." He makes it clear that it is not good enough just to confess your sins to God. Confession of sin can be routine and superficial. When we make ourselves vulnerable and accountable to each other, repentance is far more likely to be truly transforming. Thus, Paul offers this instruction in Galatians 6:1-2:
"Brothers, if any one is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. Bear one another's burdens and in this way fulfill the law of Christ."
Forest, ask yourself whether you satisfy the requirements of these 2 basic texts.
As a pastor, I arranged for our church to sponsor an interchurch weekly gathering to watch a series of excellent videos on the basics of the Christian life. Afterwards, these believers from different churches wanted to form an interchurch prayer group. In our first meeting, one lady confessed the sins of her youth with great emotion and sincerity. A lady from another church took her aside and rebuked her for airing her dirty linen in public lie that. By doing so, she effectively killed that prayer group.
