454. Can women be church leaders?

Yes, they can.

Priscilla ... expounded unto him the way of God. Acts 18:26

I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church. Romans 16:1

(I commend you to our sister Phoebe, a deaconess of the church. The Revised Standard Version)

Junia ... of note among the apostles Romans 16:7

No, they cannot.

Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church. 1 Corinthians 14:34-35

Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. 1 Timothy 2:11-12

"Junia" (Romans 16:7)

Some translators were so upset at the idea of a woman apostle that they replaced "Junia" with "Junias." The problem with this is that although "Junia" was a common woman's name at that time, there is no evidence for "Junias" as a man's name.
Bart D. Ehrman, Misquoting Jesus (2005), p.185

Christian Responses

Christ Created