Flush trim bit on table router

Hello, I am fairly new to woodworking and VERY new to using a router. I need some help figuring how to trim a piece of wood without getting myself hurt. Yesterday I tried to trim a 3/4" piece of pine to a 1/4" masonite template, using a brand new 1/2" flush trim bit. I'm doing this as practice before approaching the same project with hardwood. The template is about 3/4 of a 7" circle with a flat bottom.On the first piece things went smoothly about halfway around, and then the bit tore about an inch and a half chunk from the pine. I figured I was trying to trim too much, so I made another and sanded the pine to about 1/8" of the template and tried again. This time, it took much smaller chunks, but took them nonetheless. In all cases, the sudden explosion of wood was similar to my experience of feeding the wood from the wrong direction. (I presume that scares everybody when it happens!) For clarification, I am using a table router, feeding from the right to the left, touching the wood to the bit on the operator side of the bit (I presume that makes a difference?). The process SEEMED like it should be similar to using a round-over bit. I've not had too many problems with that yet. Is the cutting of the arc problematic since the wood grain changes direction at some point? Is the problem that pine is a soft wood? Is there some kind of trick? Any help anyone can offer would be welcome! I really hate that sudden sound of shattering wood and the feeling of the project being torn from my hand in a micro-second! Thanks