Reminds me of Matthew 18 where it discusses how to handle a person who is publicly sinning. People can disagree with the degree to which a pastor has rules but I don’t think they can disagree that a church can set rules on its membership. Those rules can be set by the church membership or a top down structure - but there still can be rules. The Catholic Church is more of a top down hierarchy than most churches - to that I can agree. But the notion that a church can’t impose rules on its members seems not to fit in with the idea of how membership in any group works, religious or not.
“But the notion that a church can’t impose rules on its members seems not to fit in with the idea of how membership in any group works, religious or not.”
Our church has rules. Boy! Does our church have rules! It’s just that the pastor isn’t a dictator.