Clinic or Spa: Imperfect Church is for Who?

There were three of us at the southern Ohio cemetery- my sister, myself, and a relative I'll call Ted. We just buried our father, and were talking with Ted, an outgoing retired truck driver who can make you feel important and then turn angry in a heartbeat. His life was a mess and he often talked about cleaning up so he could go to church.

Like other times, my sister and I urged Ted to attend church "just as he was." Go to God and let Him clean you up. But Ted wasn't buying. Was it rejection? ("We don't accept "sinners.") Was it faulty theology? ("God only takes good people, so I've got to clean myself up first.") Was it pride? ("I can do this myself.") Was it a reaction to church hypocrisy? ("Pretending to be good, but rotten inside.") Was it all of these?

Whether due to perception or packaging, it's hard to be imperfect in church. Do we treat the church as a spiritual clinic, or a spa? Is it a runway for models "stylin' and profilin', or a treatment room for patients laid bare and vulnerable? What does it mean that Jesus fraternized with sinners (Matthew 9:10,11), and Paul was explicit about his bad past and that of the Corinthian church (1 Timothy 1:15, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11)? How can the imperfect church and this imperfect pastor reach Ted?

¹¹When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" ¹²On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ¹³But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Matthew 9:11-13