He broke the law, was warned repeatedly that he needed a license to run a church, and he refused to comply. Guess what - it has nothing to do with religion - same thing will happen if you're selling food out of your house and refuse repeatedly to get a licence or to stop operating the illegal restaraunt.

When I moved into this house I was told by the building inspector that I needed to install a fireproof door between the house and the garage. I didn't get all huffy and say "oh yeah, just try and make me copper" - I complied with the law because I didn't want to go to jail or pay a hefty fine.