What if a congregation was totally honest?

Churches talk a lot about hospitality. Most take it seriously, at least toward people they like. Some are sincere and try to welcome all comers -- some are even good at it.

But often, church members tiptoe around visitors. Sometimes this is in the name of hospitality, wanting them to feel welcome and comfortable. Sometimes this is because they are afraid the visitors might find how what they -- the congregation -- are really like.

Here's an idea of radical hospitality -- What if a congregation told a visitor what they were like up front? This is the idea from a recent post on another blog.

What would our honest self-disclosure be? Would it be disturbing? Funny? Disappointing? Real? Would others like find it appealing or appalling? Hard to say. After all, some people prefer phony smiles to real-life complexity. But I think most people would like who we honestly are. But it's hard to put that kind of honesty into hospitality.