You didn't offend the pastor, you offended the institutional church of whom the pastor is leader of. Once becoming a 501c3 organization, there is no option for the leader of the institutional church to interpret Romans 13, except in a manner acceptable to the institution, and there is no room for a layman to offer an alternative point of view.

I am sure that if this disagreement were addressed privately (as commanded by Jesus), things would have gone much differently.

The fellowship I was part of used a word that always bothered me: they would ask the congregation "are you teachable?". My first response would be "of course I'm teachable!", but that's not really the question. The question is "are you pre-indoctrinated?" Have you adopted biblical interpretations (whether your own or from outside sources) outside of the interpretation of the 501c3 organization? Are you a blank paper we can write upon? Are you willing to let go of any contrary interpretations, or at the least, keep these understandings private.