Tim Macklin Sr., a pastor and former father-in-law of Renee Good, who was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis during anti-ICE activities, shared his message about faith and what really matters during trying times.
Macklin spoke with Liz Collin on her podcast about matters of faith and his fight to gain custody of Renee’s son—his grandson.
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Macklin’s son was married to Renee Good for five years before they separated. Sadly, Macklin’s son died a few years ago. More recently, Renee lived in Minneapolis with her partner, Rebecca.
Then in January, Renee was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. Collin asked Macklin about his reaction to learning about the tragic events.
Macklin said, “It was a shock … I mean, you never know when these things is, you know, the Bible talks about this life is like a vapor. We’re here one minute and gone the next, but you don’t never really expect it to happen to your family members. You know what I mean?”
Along with his personal suffering, Macklin pointed out how, “it’s a tragedy. It’s hard on everybody. It’s the whole country. I mean, the whole country is going through things right now that we never expected to go through. It’s getting worse and worse.”
In turning to another aspect of the tragedy, he pointed out how Renee’s son—Macklin’s grandson—has now lost both his parents. Macklin is now fighting for custody of his grandson, as Renee and her partner Rebecca were not married.
“The Bible said without faith it is impossible to please the Lord. And I truly believe that God is going to return this child to us. We are trying to contact attorneys and trying to get one, you know, that will work with us,” Macklin said.
In speaking about Renee’s partner Rebecca, Macklin said, “I have nothing, I by no means want to take the child completely away from her. I’d like to everybody have visitation rights. I just want to raise my grandson to the Lord.”
Macklin also told Collin about the contrast between his children and his grandson.
“You know, I’ve got 11- and 12-year-old children right now that can quote you 40 Bible scriptures off the top of their head and quote you all 66 books of the Bible,” and who have “never heard mom and dad say a curse word in their whole life,” he said.
“You know, my little grandson … he can’t help it, but he’s using the F-words and, you know, his fingernails are painted … I mean, we just want to teach him the way the Bible tells us to live,” Macklin added.
Macklin also discussed his work as a pastor in Tennessee and how he recently led a national prayer in Washington, D.C.
During that prayer, Macklin explained how the tragedy involving Renee “is not a political problem, but a spiritual problem.”
“The word of God says, we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, the powers of darkness of this world. You know, we’re allowing the devil to come in. You know, the Bible says in Ephesians 5.6, ‘For the wrath of God will come upon the children disobedience.’ And you can just feel God’s hand lifting off our nation because of the disobedience of America,” Macklin explained.
He also pointed out that, “Instead of fighting and arguing and pointing fingers and blaming people, we need to all go to God. And in unity, that’s what God is looking for. People coming together in unity and just gathering hands and just praying and just crying out to God, repent from our sins.”
Amid all of the unrest and incivility, Macklin had a message for those protesting in the name of his former daughter-in-law.
“Only God can solve these problems in our nation and in our lives, you know … It’s horrible that Renee lost her life at such a young age,” he said.
“[She was] bright, smart, intelligent, but she just wasn’t walking the spirit of the Lord and that’s what we all got to do,” Macklin added.
A GiveSendGo fund has been set up to help Macklin and his family gain custody of his grandson.
Liz Collin
Liz Collin is a multi-Emmy-Award-winning investigative reporter, news anchor, and producer who cares about Minnesota. She is the producer of The Fall of Minneapolis and Minnesota v We the People documentary films, and author of the Amazon best-selling book, They’re Lying: The Media, the Left, and The Death of George Floyd. Her work has prompted important state laws. Yet perhaps most of all, Liz has been giving a voice to the truth—and helping others tell their stories—for more than 20 years.
Dr. JC Chaix
Dr. JC Chaix is an editor, educator, and an expert in media studies. He wrote and directed the Alpha News documentary "The Fall of Minneapolis" and "Minnesota v We the People."
