The Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana has elected a former Southern Baptist pastor as its 11th bishop. The Very Rev. Morris Thompson, Dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Lexington, Ky., was elected on the third ballot.

Dean Thompson led from the first ballot in both the clerical and lay orders. The dean is a 1983 graduate of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. He was ordained as a Baptist pastor in 1981. He was ordained an Episcopal deacon in 1990 and priest in 1991.

He has been dean in Lexington since 1997. He also served as an associate at St. James’s Church, Jackson, Miss., in 1992-97 and an associate at Calvary Episcopal Church, Ashland, Ky., in 1991-92.

In his profile for the election, Dean Thompson repeatedly emphasized love.

“God calls us into relationships of joy, not duty,” he wrote. “When I was growing up my maternal grandfather’s love for me was so tangible that I could feel his desire for me to be around him. He looked forward to my arrival and enjoyed my going to work or church with him, tagging along as if his life wasn’t complete without me. This degree affection is how I understand God’s desire to know the world and me. I continue to discover this love through my life of prayer, silence, and the love of others.”